


peachy!

by orphan_account



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, Pining, Useless Gays, Whipped, big big big gay, main ship chuuves, rip yeojin, staying in the real world but not really, theyre idiots, this is my first fic go easy on me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-04-06 10:56:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 46,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19061224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Follow the lives of our favorite girls, but more specifically the onyx eyes of Ha Sooyoung and the bright rays of Kim Jiwoo.In which Jiwoo has an endless amount of love, and Sooyoung just wants to make everyone happy and pleased.orThe remnants of red lipstick stain Jiwoo’s skin, and it comes to the attention of ten different girls staring at her with odd reactions to what she and the love of her life had been doing in the corner of the room.





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so! That was a really crappy summary, I apologize!! This fanfiction is indeed a roleplay, meaning that two people wrote this, one of my dear friends and I! The perspective constantly switches from our main characters, Jiwoo and Sooyoung, though other members and people appear within the story as well. If you don’t like how this is written, then don’t read it! The roleplay was made for entirely our own self indulgence, and if you like to see pining idiots and more with plentiful fluff, this is a good fic to go for in our loona drought.
> 
> There are probably a lot of spelling errors or lower cased words and names meant to be uppercased, but please know that we do this for fun and scrolling through all these thousands and thousands of gayness can be a little taxing! It switches tenses from time to time as well, but that is also just regular roleplay formatting that we use. So as long as you readers keep open minded throughout the story and looking at the mistakes of sleep deprived writers, you’ll have fun!
> 
> By the way, events in the story are somewhat based off of what happened in their schedule, but there are planned events that we made up ourselves to give just a bit more spice to it. Thank you!

Another beautiful, bright day for the members! Well, it was still dark out considering that it was only five am and freakishly cold outside, but most of the band was already awake and getting ready to head out. Except for yyxy. The last sub-unit of Loona, with some of the most caring members with the coolest visuals which just happened to come with the fact that they needed the most sleep. For at least the sixth time this morning, Jiwoo slammed her hand down on the lower bunk bed, groaning and rolling over before attempting to go back to sleep. 

 

Unfortunately, this peace wouldn’t last for long.

 

“Wake up, losers! Manager-Unnie is going to be mad if you don’t get ready within thirty minutes!” The familiar screeches of the youngest of the group, Im Yeojin, came from the doorway of the room with an uncomfortable light from the rest of the condo. 

 

Jiwoo lets out a tired grunt, and none of the girls seem to be making an effort in getting out of bed.

 

What time it must have been seemed obvious - mornings were always like this, so early - but what day it was escaped Sooyoung. That part would come later, for the familiar routine of the morning would have to kick in. Set an example for the group, Sooyoung would tell herself again and again. They were all so lucky to be where they were.

 

Lifting herself up with straightened hair strewn across her face in a tangle of constant turning in her bed, Sooyoung felt a little more weary than usual. There had been some build up to what the group would be doing next, but Sooyoung knew that 'Yves' could depend on her team if she was feeling low. The support of her group, and more so the yyxy sub-group, kept the fire burning within.

 

The only heat Sooyoung was searching for was from her slippers. Sliding her legs out of the bunk bed to the chilly air, Sooyoung's eyes squint from the piercing bright light of the door. If she was quick enough, a hot shower would be waiting for her. "Up," Soo Young groggily spoke as the first of her feet slipped into her cute Swan slippers Jiwoo had gotten her. "We're up."

 

The nightgown did nothing to keep warmth in, and as soon as she wobbly stood from bed, the little steps of Sooyoung scraped along the ground purposefully. The more noise made the more likely the rest would rise. "Come on," she spoke again, heading towards the door to the bathroom.

 

Jiwoo wished that she hadn’t heard the leader call out to her, but if Sooyoung was awake, it meant Jiwoo had to be too. She groggily sat up, only then to hit her head on the bottom of the bunk bed on top of her. Hyejoo groaned in response, having felt Jiwoo’s head ram into her back. Chaewon was still out, so it was pretty much guaranteed she wouldn’t get up anytime soon.

 

Jiwoo, rubbing her forehead, rolled off of her bed and lazily slipped on her peach colored slippers, as all of the members had their own colors to represent them. It was easier to manage when there were twelve people living in one place, after all, but Jiwoo was far too tired for today.

 

As morning routine, Jiwoo waddled over to the dresser where Sooyoung and her kept their clothing for the sake of convenience. She pulls out a crop top and the usual black pants for Sooyoung, who often shows off her body around the condo, while she gives herself a white t-shirt and black pants as well with a sweater over it.

 

Brushing past the doorway once she heard Hyejoo’s low complaint about her back, Jiwoo sleepily gives a Sooyoung her clothes. The normally chipper girl seems a little more tired than their leader, but at the end of the day, it was always Sooyoung who definitely worked the hardest. She had to be there to help the other girls perfect the dances, and today was no different. Jiwoo rubbed her eyes when heard the other girls chatting in the living room and shook her head before slumping against the wall.

 

Relieved at least half of the group was on their feet, Sooyoung spotted Jiwoo grabbing some clothes for her - obviously Sooyoung wasn't alert enough to bring clothes to the shower. Sharing a condo with a dozen people was surprisingly efficient, but there were important things to consider - like sharing bathrooms. And bringing clothes into said rooms so there'd be less padding to and from bedrooms.

 

It was a well oiled machine in many ways, this household. "Ah," Sooyoung rubbed her eye with a little pout - the grogginess still present in her head. "Thanks again, Jiwooming," she smiled, wiggling her burgundy Swan slipper to indicate her thanks for the gift. "I'll be quick, okay?" 

 

Preferring to not catch the gaze of the girls already up and spreading out to the kitchen and living room, Sooyoung glided as quickly as she could to the bathroom. Already foggy from the other members using the room, it felt more like a sauna than anything else. Being the late risers meant having to face messy bathrooms and the leftovers to any breakfasts. Sooyoung luckily had the skills to whip up food when need be and treat her sub-group when food choice was dire. Closing the door behind her, Sooyoung quickly shimmied her nightgown and panties and kept into the shower, throwing the hot tap on immediately and waiting for the water to warm.

 

Jiwooming gives Sooyoung a salute in response, though she looks like she can pass out at any moment. But it’s a sleepy, happy smile that she has on now that she’s at least the slightest but awake. Chaewon will be in for it if she doesn’t wake up soon because of Jiwoo’s soon to develop living aegyo/human nutrient. Jiwoo closes the door for Sooyoung, for once not bothering to go in and turn off the lights in the shower again.

 

When it really came down to it, the group was rather seamless with what they did. They worked well together, with designated roles and had become each other’s family. Though, about a minute into Sooyoung’s shower would she hear a loud scream from the yyxy room followed by the strangling of what seems to be another member. Yes, another morning.

 

Haseul, who was one of the first to wake up, stood up from the dining room table that she had been sitting at with Vivi and Jungeun and what had previously been Yeojin. The normal morning routine, of course. Hyunjin looked up grumpily from the counter, and Heejin was half asleep laying on her best friend’s shoulder who was feasting on a piece of bread for breakfast. There were several shouts, something about spiders and how Yeojin was going to taste the fury of Chaewon’s fist, but luckily things were beginning to settle down.

 

“Yeojin-ah!” Chaewon was sprinting after the stupid lentil bean now, who was actually screaming and trying not to hurt herself. This was followed by Hyejoo now actually realizing that the midget might die at the hands of her crush, and she slowly just followed along after them. “Don’t run in the house! Stop it you two!” Haseul called after them.

 

Yerim grimaced at the sight of a yelling Haseul, which really could only be a bad thing. She glanced at Jinsoul, who’s sitting on the couch and just watching them run around her before zooming off somewhere else. The members of loona were either embarrassed, slightly amused, or just pitying the bean for the fate she had resigned herself to. Jiwoo slumped down in the hallway, though her safety was not guaranteed.

 

There was then a loud crash, and it resulted in Jiwoo groaning in pain with the small teenager on top of her looking terrified for her life though also hurt by their tumble. Chaewon seemed to not be as angry now, more so just realizing that Yeojin had hurt Jiwoo.

 

“See, this is what I meant.” Haseul sighed tiredly, picking out a few fake plastic spiders from Chaewon’s frazzled hair. Jiwoo could hardly breath, and she rolled her head back onto the carpet and almost passed out again. Hyejoo caught up now, who looked rather worried for Jiwoo’s health. The members were beginning to come over and check it out, and Yeojin quickly scrambled off of Jiwoo to try and run away for her life only then to be stopped by Hyunjin, who had grabbed her by the shirt.

 

“Jiwoo!! Are you okay?!” Shrieked Jungeun, who kneeled down to Jiwoo to help the girl sit up slightly. Having known Jiwoo her entire high school life, she knew that Jiwoo wasn’t clumsy and didn’t get hurt much, but she was a little fragile.

 

Jiwoo groans in response, to which even Vivi comes over to tell the others to back away just a little bit even though they were concerned about their friend’s health. Way to start the morning!

 

While the warmth of the water was beginning to rise, and the skin was beginning to better feel the droplets of water hitting her skin, Sooyoung's concentration was being broken at a constant rate by the incessant bickering happening outside of the bathroom. Scoffing with an eye roll - not for anyone to see but more than in voluntary action - Sooyoung was reminded her shower would be brief and the relaxation short. But like everything else this team was used to, the luxuries came from results, and nothing else. At least Haseul was out there to calm the room. 

 

With quick motions Sooyoung scrounged around for the shampoo that was for her type of hair, and she ladled it on as quickly as she could, but with the intent to get her hair as best as she could - before anyone else had their hands on it. She recognised the speed of hairdressers on set, though now that the group was whole, and not so much sub-groups the team needed to be more efficient than ever before on set. Helping out with the shampooing was only a minor offering, but if she could, would help.

 

Reaching down to the line of various coloured bottles along the shower, Sooyoung grabbed her conditioner - with her attention focused on the squabbles happening outside the door - and couldn't refrain from speaking out in a loud enough voice for those outside. "Just behave for five minutes, will you?" she whined with less authority than annoyance. It was too early for this kind of bickering, and especially considering she wouldn't have much time to whip up something good for her team to eat if the free breakfast laid out by the agency this morning. Chances were most of the good food prepared for them would be gone, and they would have to resort to something by Sooyoung. 

 

Finding her conditioner Sooyoung then slathered her hair up as quick as possible, but in a state of carelessness managed to find some of that conditioner in her left eye, causing her to squeak out in pain and cover her eye. Trying to wash it out with the water still streaming down on the top of her head, Sooyoung hoped her eye wouldn't be so glaringly red when coming out of the shower - or else their manager might consider pushing her into the back of any photoshoots or events happening today. It was silly mistakes like this that cost not only herself, but the sub-group bit of upset.

 

Since being announced as the leader of yyxy, it was extra responsibility that fell on her shoulders with great weight. She loved her girls, and they loved her. With nowhere else to clean, and no more time to waste, Sooyoung turned the taps of the shower, and with the last droplets of water beginning to dry up from the showerhead, the sounds of the condo were even clearer now - distinctive voices now popping up and easier to identify. Of course, she thought, that it would be that bunch of girls making all the rubbish this morning. "No one break anything!" Sooyoung shouted. With no one else to turn to, Sooyoung went to her confidant. "Jiwoo! Is everything okay?" Sooyoung was hurriedly wrapping her head in a towel and slipping on her panties, pants, bra and eventually her crop top. It was just one glance at the mirror to see if everything was on right before she'd storm out - but perhaps the towel should be off her head first, she thought.

 

Jiwoo is now curled up in pain on the floor— she basically looks crippled at this point, with her head against a makeshift pillow and her arms on her stomach. Jiwoo hadn’t given them much of a response due to the fact that she seriously was set on just not functioning properly the entire morning, especially now that she couldn’t breath much after basically being bodyslammed earlier. There were less girls though, but they all showed their concern for Jiwoo in their own ways. It might be a good or a bad thing, though they had completely ignored Sooyoung’s call.

 

Haseul was asking Jiwoo if any places on her hurt while Vivi rubbed Jiwoo’s back and sent a firm look over to their bean. Yeojin looked pretty guilty for what she did too, though it ours all be resolved soon enough. It wouldn’t be so fun for Jiwoo, she might even have to miss rehearsals today! It wasn’t the rest of her body hurting, it was just mainly her forehead, her chest and her stomach, but other than that she’d be okay. Jiwoo wishes that she hadn’t woken up this way.

 

Sooyoung receives no response from Jiwoo, but there are still shouts and noises of slight distress coming from outside. It’s rather easy to hear them, since the door is fairly thin, but Jiwoo is still dying slowly on the floor. The sight that Sooyoung comes out to is slightly concerning, with Yerim, Yeojin, Hyunjin, Heejin, Haseul, Vivi, Jungeun, And Jinsoul looking worried over their friend who was still on the floor. Chaewon and Hyejoo had gone off to cool Chaewon down, even if they were also concerned for their friend, she would be okay.

 

Throwing the towel off her head and flinging it to the many-railed hanger, Sooyoung swung the bathroom door open - some of the steam from the shower seeping out of the room, and Sooyoung's hair still damp. The crunchy, guttural feeling felt as Sooyoung spotted the huddle of women surrounding someone made Sooyoung hold her stomach with one hand, her anger quickly turning to fear. Had something serious happened? Sooyoung's eyes counted the women she could recognise, and with each one, Sooyoung's concern grew. "Penguin," she thought to herself. Was Jiwoo hurt for real? The questions built up in her mind as Sooyoung approached the hunched over Jiwoo. 

 

Standing by the women who surrounds Jiwoo, Sooyoung pushed Yeojin aside and went down to her knees to analyze the situation. There always felt like a motherly instinct to care for her team, but Chuu always got the most attention. Whether she needed it or not, Sooyoung saw Jiwoo as someone in need of a little more help. Being the older, there was a sense of responsibility. "Jiwoo, are you alright? Where does it hurt?" Sooyoung's voice became more sterile than emotional, looking at the hunched shape of Jiwoo.

 

If Jiwoo wasn’t awake yet, she certainly was now! Her eyes flickered open, as she now sees a rather serious looking Ha Sooyoung kneeling beside her. Jiwoo can hardly make out what she says, but then registers the question again in her head after a moment. Jiwoo gives her a light shrug, as she clearly wasn’t okay, but at least she was trying to not give up on herself. “S-stomach..” she murmured quietly, a much softer tone considering that this was Jiwoo they were talking about. Yeojin looked incredibly guilty now, especially for how badly hurt her friend seemed to be.

 

Jiwoo tries to sit up, though is only able to do a slight crunch before just giving up and flopping onto the floor. Thoughts begin to flood her head. She wouldn’t be able to practice today. She’d miss everything. She’d have to take more time to redo the dance with the others. Jiwoo’s fault. Jiwoo couldn’t dance. A frown appears on her face and she lets out a defeated sigh. “Yeojin ran into me, and it’s.. a little painful.” She gives her a slight smile, as if trying to tell Sooyoung she was okay. “Your hair is still wet, Unnie.” She said, giving her a small pat on the cheek and trying to make things seem a little bit better.

 

Not realising she had just nudged the culprit Yeojin out of the way, Sooyoung was preparing to scold her – only to spot the guilt on her face. The last thing needed right now was more conflict. There was little she knew about first-aid, so the best Sooyoung felt she could do was assess the immediate pain, and if need be, have enough to tell a doctor. Perhaps it wouldn't come to that, but given the high pressure of getting ready for today's rehearsal, perhaps this would affect the day. Placing a hand on Jiwoo's stomach, she very lightly pressed above Jiwoo's stomach to see if any ribs were hurt. Then to the sides of her stomach.

 

Feeling Jiwoo's pat of her cheek after her comment, Sooyoung moved back slightly. "I--" Sooyoung's glance down at her hair, swinging back and forth to add a few droplets of water onto Jiwoo's top, only now realising the patches of water on her own crop top. "Hah, look at us," the chuckle releasing a bit of tension. Sooyoung turned her head to Yeojin. "Are you alright? Is every--" Sooyoung's glance then scanned the room to the concerned faces around her. "--is everyone alright?"

 

The women surrounding started to give the two a bit more space, now realising the injury wasn't as serious. "Anyone else need to get ready before we head out?" Sooyoung's voice raised, trying to get the squad to pick up on lost time.

 

Her smile widens when she heard Sooyoung chuckle, though while attempting to laugh herself she was instead trying to bite back the pain from her chest expanding too much and ended up having an awkward chortle to herself. Jiwoo felt the tension in the air release slightly, and so did the breath she didn’t know she had been holding. Jiwoo instead just lays on the floor beside Sooyoung while the group shuffles slightly, as if trying to figure out what to do. Though they were still a little off from seeing what had happened, Haseul or Yeojin could probably explain what happened to Jiwoo later.

 

Haseul lets out a sigh of relief and smiles tiredly at Sooyoung. “We’re fine, fortunately. Yeojin, though, you need to at least say something to Jiwoo.” The stern expression on Haseul’s face softens slightly when she looks down at the younger girl, who’s far more interested in anything that isn’t this situation. “I didn’t mean to! It.. I just.. I’m sorry, Jiwoo.” Yeojin frowned, a genuine look of sadness on her face. Jiwoo gives her a smile and a soft ‘it’s okay’ before having Vivi help her sit up from the floor.

 

“Chaewon and I still need to shower. We’ll get ready while you take care of Jiwoo, yeah?” Hyejoo says softly from her corner of the room, with an equally guilty-looking Chaewon beside her.

 

Nodding to the logical directions Hyejoo was giving, Sooyoung looked down to Jiwoo with her usual kind concerned expression. "That's a great idea, Baby Wolf," Sooyoung continued the light humor with the nicknames. Starting the day with a sour note doesn't help anyone, especially when there's the arduous workout ahead of the group.

 

This wasn't uncommon to help Jiwoo out like this, but it was a cherished habit Sooyoung enjoyed quietly. Along with the pressures of work, making sure the household was peaceful enough was just as important. "Don't worry Jiwooming, we've got you covered," Sooyoung assured Jiwoo with another small smile curling on the side of her mouth. "Can you sit up?"

 

Looking around the room for something to perch Jiwoo up, like a pillow or seat, Sooyoung instead scooped her arm around Jiwoo's shoulders. Jiwoo most likely didn't need the extra help, but after having a flash of fear that something serious could've happened to her, Sooyoung wanted to be sure. Pulling with a gentle lift, Sooyoung helped Jiwoo to sit up, making sure not to rush her. Even though Jiwoo said it was her stomach hurting, Sooyoung remembered how she felt after injuring her nose. The 'show must go on' attitude tended to make you ignore the full extent of your injuries.

 

Hyejoo pouted at the nickname, but instead decided on just escorting Chaewon into the bathroom. No one seemed to question why both of the members were going in at the same time together, but Haseul did give them a knowing look as the door shut behind them. The group begins to disperse into the condo yet again.

 

Jiwoo gives Sooyoung a wider smile now, and wraps her arms around Sooyoung as to hold herself up while she helps Jiwoo to sit up. Jiwoo’s head was still spinning a little bit, but she’s glad that her Unnie is there to help her out like the last few times when she was recording an MV or had no one to talk to. Jiwoo might just die if she didn’t have Sooyoung around!

 

Yeojin seems to be the cause for multiple of the member’s injuries, though it was okay in the end when everyone was assured and knew that none of them meant it. Jiwoo had helped Sooyoung out when she heard she got injured, though it was just because of Yeojin accidentally stepping on Sooyoung while walking off stage. “Thank you, Sooyoungie.” She says with a smile now that she’s sitting up, and also attempting to ignore the sounds of laughter from the bathroom behind them. “Don’t you need to go eat breakfast? Maybe we can eat together while those two are still showering..” Jiwoo says to her, the stomach pain not feeling so bad anymore when she looks at Sooyoung.

 

Breakfast, Sooyoung thought, would be a great pick-me-up – not just for Jiwoo, but for herself. What another hectic morning, with it still carrying on with chuckles in the background, but Sooyoung kept her focus on Jiwoo. "I think that's a great idea," Sooyoung showed off a bigger smile. A little bit of cooking for the two of them would be a great idea. "Any requests?" she asked, helping Jiwoo up to a nearby sitting cushion and brushing the slightly ruffled hair out of her face.

 

Using a hand to help stand up from her kneeled position – the pants making it easier to get up than a skirt – Sooyoung gathered her hair and moved it to her back to keep at least some order in her look. The water would eventually dry, so it wasn't a problem. "You know what we have in the kitchen, so I can throw something quick together," Sooyoung's voice carried as she turned to the kitchen, spotting an almost empty couple of trays of food – crumbs from some sweet buns and pastries remained, and a couple of sugary danishes. 

 

Buying these breakfasts from time to time, the gesture from the agency was kind, but the calories weren't going to help with the notoriously strict diets the team had to keep – especially when buying these packs in bulk. The average Korean could chow down on these and not give it a second thought, but the girls couldn't risk going off the rails. Still, if the whole team had indulged a bit, perhaps Jiwoo and Sooyoung could, too.

 

Believe it or not, the company wasn’t really strict on the girls when it came to diets. They ate quite a lot and usually whatever they wanted, since there was a rule on take what you can eat but work it off afterwards. On LoonaTV, it shows the girls eating often whenever they are out or just on the streets. Sooyoung and Jiwoo had feasted on some yummy waffles and Dim Sum in Hong Kong not too long ago too, to perform the XIVX teaser and other things too.

 

As long as the managers approved of it anyways, the group could eat what they wanted. Plus, it was a good energizer for the day when they could actually indulge from time to time on what they wanted to eat. It was a regular for Hyunjin to go down to the bakery and eat, or just to order food to their condo. Often times it was like a huge buffet line, and several plates of one thing had to be ordered due to the girls’ appetites. Jiwoo especially, ate quite a lot, though her figure always stayed the same. In a way it was almost magical!

 

“Heejin told me that we can eat whatever’s in there, so just grab a few things and I think we’ll be set. Hyejoo and Chaewon will probably be in there for a while, anyways.” Jiwoo shrugged, though Sooyoung couldn’t really see her do so when the girl was off in the hallway. The others seemed to have retreated into their caves to wait for everyone else to get ready, though occasionally one of the members would pat Jiwoo or walk past her in the hallway.

 

There was still some easing to do with the strictness of her old teacher's training about food before the days of Loona, but being among friends who were not as stringent on what they ate gave Sooyoung some comfort – even allowing the cameras filming their LoonaTV series to capture it on screen. There was indulgence and then overkill, and with a group of 12, luckily it never came down to it being too big an issue.

 

The giggling from the bathroom was hard to avoid, with Sooyoung looking to Jiwoo and indicating with her head about the noises. A squinted face and a mouthed "What's going on?" followed by a silent chuckle, then looking back to the space on the kitchen counter where the appliances were tucked away.

 

Creating a full banchan selection this morning wouldn't be logical with the short timeframe the girls had left, but Sooyoung had an idea. "Hey, since all the good sweets are gone, how about some fresh waffles?" Sooyoung's voice carried a singing tone to it. If the other girls were to get jealous, it was for eating all the good pastries. Making waffles was easy. One of the household's latest gifts of congratulations was a waffle iron. Before Jiwoo could answer, Sooyoung had already flicked the iron on, turning to the pantry to rummage for flour, raw sugar, baking powder and vanilla essence – a little secret Sooyoung learned when trying to add a bit of extra flavor.

 

Jiwoo was never really strict about her diet, and she had a hard time around self control sometimes. She remembers how afraid some other girl groups were about what they ate, like fearing of starvation and other things. BBC cared for each member’s health and fortunately, Jiwoo was able to eat what she liked as long as she didn’t let it get too out of control. Sometimes they could even eat while in the practice room!

 

Jiwoo gives Sooyoung a shrug, although she knew of Hyejoo’s feelings towards Chaewon, Chaewon never seemed to understand the ‘I want to kiss you so hard right now’ look that Hyejoo always gives her. Vise Versa. Jiwoo would wait until they realized they like each other, but she didn’t need to tell them about how the group constantly talked about who would confess first.

 

“Waffles? Yes!!” Jiwoo practically sprung up from her spot beside the wall, only then to double over and groan in pain before slowly making her way over to the kitchen. She still had messy bed head and was in her cute pajama shorts and shirt. She sits down at the counter, grinning at Sooyoung. Jiwoo couldn’t cook at home, but apparently she had amazed Haseul whenever she cooked meats or when they were at Korean barbecue. Jiwoo was proud of her cooking skills, but it wasn’t nearly as good as Sooyoung’s cooking. “Do you want me to make you coffee? One milk one sugar, right?” She asks her before standing up again.

 

Between the pacing from the pantry to the fridge for milk and eggs back to the pantry, Jiwoo's offer widened Sooyoung's eyes. Placing the ingredients she had down on the table, Sooyoung returned to the both her hands and looking right into Jiwoo's eyes, Sooyoung proclaimed "Yes. Yes please." before heading to the pantry to grab some salt, dodging Jiwoo's jump down from the table. "Music to my ears."

 

This little moment of sharing the kitchen together again was nice for Sooyoung, and while Jiwoo didn't need an apron to make a coffee, Sooyoung jokingly grabbed the Loona-branded apron hanging on the hook by the pantry and handed it over. "Don't forget," Sooyoung smiled. As cute as the pyjamas were, chances are they'd somehow dirty them with the luck they had this morning.

 

Grabbing a glass bowl from the lower cabinet, Sooyoung was already in work mode, cracking the egg shell with a fluidity that was as impressive as it was neat and tidy. The milk jug lid was screwed open just for a small moment, and Sooyoung's measurement by eye seemed to be just right pouring into the bowl before closing the lid. Sooyoung relished moments where she could use her skills elsewhere. Making waffles for the crew felt like a dance in itself.

 

Jiwoo gives Sooyoung a wide grin when she said yes, her spirit and energy slowly coming back into the girl with the more time she spent around Sooyoung. They didn’t get too much time to spend playing and having a free day, or at least enough time to actually do what they wanted. It was refreshing to be around Sooyoung so much, especially when the two were able to just work with each other and do things together. Almost like a couple!

 

A blush forms on face at the thought, but she snaps out of it when Sooyoung hands her an apron. Nodding thankfully even if she was only making coffee, she walked over to their coffee machine and put on a fresh pot while getting out other ingredients. Jiwoo actually wasn’t that bad of a sous chef when it came down to it, and Sooyoung could definitely get Jiwoo to do what she needed to too. It was fun to work with her.

 

Once pouring in the water and beans to the coffee machine, she pulls out their vanilla creamer and sugar. Jiwoo preferred two sugars and one milk, but sometimes Jiwoo and a Sooyoung would share due to the fact that neither of them had time in the morning to be able to finish quickly by themselves. It was like a power trio, and she especially admired whenever Sooyoung cooked for her or just them only. It made her feel special in a way, though she still had to finish making the coffee.

 

Sooyoung gave a side glance at Jiwoo, watching as she began to make coffee. The container holding the coffee always had some positive connotations to it. The sound of the lid, the immediate smell of ground coffee beans, and the vast memories in which coffee had become a savior.

 

The quieter moments on set when the two of them just sat, reflected on the day and sipped on sweet coffees were cherished. No one could quite give the same level of comfort and relaxation as Jiwooming when moments were quieter. Even now, with the scuffling of feet in various bedrooms and giggling in the still closed bathroom, there was an almost serene moment between the two. 

 

With the batter finally whipped up and ready, Sooyoung opened the iron to ladle the first waffle - the hiss of the light gold batter music to Sooyoung's ears. "Hungry?" she asked her fellow chef, looking at the batter amount she made and judging that they'll have plenty left over. Putting the bowl down and closing the iron, Sooyoung walked across to the fridge again to get the toppings they could put on top. "Cream? Maple syrup?" she spoke as she looked at the fridge. "......strawberries?"

 

It was this kind of pleasant mornings apart from what happened earlier that made Jiwoo so pleased, and even if she wouldn’t be able to participate in the dance today, she could at least sit back with a full and happy stomach. Sometimes the practice room was just used for v lives or for the girls messing around, and today didn’t seem like one of those days unfortunately.

 

Surprisingly enough, Jiwoo could actually shut up when she wanted to. From time to time, she would let out a soft hum to a song or nudge a cabinet closed with her hip in a little dance. A sweet feeling with just the two of them, and maybe one day it can be like this again. It truly wasn’t anything special when you look at it from a normal person’s standpoint, but to two busy idols who hardly slept at all, it was worth it to enjoy it while it lasted.

 

“Strawberries.” It wasn’t a question when it came to sugar or *strawberries*, Jiwoo was weak for them. It was almost funny sometimes as to how some of the members didn’t like their fruits, like how Choerry or Yerim hated cherries,which was her entire ‘thing.’ Jiwoo turned back when she heard the pot beep, signaling the finished coffee pot. She grinned as she poured the coffee into their designated mugs, adding in the milk and then the sugar before placing them on the table. The girls still weren’t out yet, but Jiwoo figured that she could clean herself up on the way there if she really needed to.

 

Of course, Sooyoung thought to herself, when Jiwoo spoke so surely about the red fruit. She knew Chuu's affinity towards them. A weak spot that could cheer Jiwoo up whenever they were around. Sooyoung thought back to the times they walked more anonymously - while waiting their turn for the sub-group to be announced - through the morning markets, and the incredibly luscious berries that fruit vendors sold. So cheap and plentiful, it was an excursion that Sooyoung sometimes missed.

 

Being a part of Loona was more than Sooyoung could ever have imagined and the friendships within stronger than any school friend, though just sitting with someone else with nothing else happening seemed a wonderful dream almost. When Sooyoung caught glimpses of Jiwoo's eyes, her smile grew. Hopefully Jiwoo saw this time spent as just as enjoyable as their time practicing or working the audience at meet and greets.

 

Scooping up her mug, Sooyoung presented it with both hands, leaning forward to give Jiwoo a cheers before taking that first, delicious sip.

 

It was never really a question when it came to strawberries anyways, as they had also been her designated fruit and often made an appearance on set. Some of the members were even actually nice enough to spare her the strawberries knowing how much the girl liked them! It made her happy to know other members cared for her as she did for them, especially when Jiwoo had a long day and needed something to cheer her up under the covers.

 

Loona was a legendary opportunity for Jiwoo, who had always been supported by her parents to follow her dreams. Loona wasn’t the largest group, in terms of fame and popularity, but there are times where she can sneak away to go buy something in little shops and do as she normally did when she was still in high school. Like going to the bookshop or checking out the record places around the city she was in, even when work pulled her away eventually. Living with these girls still made her happy no matter what they did, especially her Sooyoung.

 

Jiwoo cheered with her before taking her own sip, shaking in excitement and putting it down to sigh happily. “Being around you with coffee and waffles seems to be the only remedy for the aching of my stomach. Thanks for this, Sooyoung!” She laughed.

 

"So cheesy!" Sooyoung ruffled Jiwoo's hair, Sooyoung's laugh matching hers. "It's just waffles, penguin."

 

Jiwoo's words still stuck with Sooyoung, however, no matter how big or small the intention was. Growing a bigger kinship to her more than with the group, to Sooyoung what Jiwoo thought oftentimes helped her decide some important choices since they began their journey. If the group were to split tomorrow, Sooyoung would try her best to keep Jiwoo by her side either as a side project, or just as friends. As scary as the thought even was, Sooyoung wasn't too afraid of that just yet.

 

The aroma of cooked waffles broke Sooyoung's gaze, and she quickly turned to the waffle iron to open and free the delicious bumpy pancake from its cage. Using a spatula, Sooyoung eased the edges off without letting any of the four sides tear. With a flip of the side, the waffle tumbled in the air and landed on the plate beside the waffle iron. Looking to Jiwoo with a smug face, she exclaimed with a wink: "Perfect execution."

 

Sooyoung didn't waste any time taking the large spoon in the bowl to pour more batter into the machine, closing the lid to a familiar hiss and letting the waffle take form under the pressure. Sooyoung's gaze fell back on Jiwoo, and with a knowing smirk, she nodded her head: "You take the first one. Eat it while it's hot."

 

While the hiss of the waffle maker did its magic, Sooyoung pulled the drawer holding the sharp knives and pulls out a small knife to cut the green stems from the punnet of strawberries on the table. "This bunch of strawberries aren't going to make it back in the fridge, you know," Sooyoung assured Jiwoo. These were theirs to share.

 

Jiwoo giggled when she ruffled her hair, but all she did was nod and smile. “I know!”

 

So what she said was a little overdramatic, fine! But she really didn’t care if it meant that she was able to make Sooyoung laugh or smile at her in such a way. Jiwoo’s feelings towards Sooyoung were.. something. She didn’t exactly know what they were but she didn’t want to question them either. Sometimes, it just felt right to do these things with Sooyoung or know her heart races or her stomach does little flutters and flops with butterflies inside of her. Jiwoo couldn’t help that sometimes, and she didn’t want to.

 

Sooyoung always looked out for Jiwoo. Jiwoo looked out for her. When she has first joined loona, she was actually quite scared and didn’t know what to do. But instead they teamed up and became two messes together! But in all seriousness, Sooyoung actually had helped Jiwoo get out of her Comfort zone a little and become the persona of what’s known as Chuu. She couldn’t be happier for that, really, and Sooyoung by now has surpassed the level of best friend, Jungeun is or any of her old high school friends.

 

Jiwoo applauds Sooyoung for her execution, and she scoops up the waffle to place on her own plate before retreating to the fridge to get her own decorations and wants for the waffle. She got even more excited when she mentioned that they could eat all of the strawberries, which was most pleasing due to the fact that they weren’t even hers in the first place! How great.

 

While putting her toppings on the waffle, she watched Sooyoung out of the corner fo her eye. “Unnie.. you’re really great. For the strawberries and the waffles, but other stuff too!” Jiwoo smiled goofily and took a bite out of her waffles, making an exaggerated moaning noise and squeal of delight. “It’s so good!!”

 

Taking the first trimmed strawberry and pretending to eat it herself, before offering it to Jiwoo, Sooyoung smiled. This kind of playful scenario made all the messiness before fade away. The chaos surrounding them seemed minuscule in importance compared to eating the waffles while they were still hot.

 

Placing the knife down, Sooyoung flipped open the waffle iron, flipping out another finished delicacy before ladling on more batter. "We're great, Jiwooming," Sooyoung nodded with an assured look. "We're the best. Don't tell the others," Sooyoung winked. Being a part of the group had definitely given Sooyoung a giant boost of self-confidence. As much as they relied on each other for support, all coming out with solo launches was a great lesson in self-love – something that Sooyoung unknowingly embraced with with yyxy stood for.

 

Not wasting time to let that second waffle go cold, Sooyoung skipped past Jiwoo once more to grab the small bottle of authentic Canadian maple syrup from the fridge. Part of being in this group was having to enjoy the small moments, and this was one of them – spicy foods was the other. Dousing the squares of waffle with gooey deliciousness, Sooyoung reached for a knife and fork to start her breakfast. Chewing on the fluffy piece of waffle doused in syrup for a few moments, an eyebrow perked up, and Sooyoung turned to Jiwoo. "What other stuff?" she quizzed her friend, her mouth not quite finished with the bite.

 

Jealousy from other members eating her food were long gone, and Jiwoo was especially thankful for Sooyoung being able to make her waffles so quickly. Jiwoo didn’t get the chance to go out as much and places were usually closed at the times she was awake and needed food. This was just as good as any places she knows of!

 

Taking another bite out of her waffle, she knows that she can only eat one with the amount of sugar she had loaded onto it and the food cramps that would come later if eating another. She knows that she has to control it, but it’s just so good! “Pshh, Sooyoungie, I already knew that.” She winked before laughing and taking another bite and moving to the side for Sooyoung to reach over and grab the syrup. Jiwoo remembers the anxiousness when they announced the tenth member of loona, and she was glad that she could follow along someone as great as Sooyoung.

 

For a moment she goes quiet, and then decides to smile and shrug. “Everything! I think.. mm, saying it all would take too much time, yeah? I guess I’m just really thankful for what you’ve done for me, Sooyoung. Now isn’t really the time to get sentimental, but I mean it.” Jiwoo scarfs down half of her waffle as an excuse not to respond to that any further, and also following it by a quick swig of coffee before almost burning herself when she realizes that she had hardly let it cool down. Jiwoo meant what she said, truly, Sooyoung had always been there for her— her Unnie meant much more to Jiwoo than Sooyoung might realize.

 

That little irregularity of Jiwoo's raised some curiosity in Sooyoung. What would've suddenly caused her to act odd – more than usual, at least – after saying that? The sentiment was warming, however. There were plenty of times Sooyoung bonded with other members of the group over various hobbies and interests, but there never seemed to be anyone willing – or at least able – to connect to her on a level that went past the pleasantries of the day-to-day. Jiwoo had already shared stories of her past, and the anxieties they both felt with their solo parts to the Loona team.

 

Most of the others would acknowledge it, but Jiwoo expressed herself truer than anyone else, and to be open to vulnerability like that, even Sooyoung – the older of the crew – admired. "Right, not enough time," Sooyoung glanced at the wall on the clock while her hand searched blindly for the coffee mug on the kitchen counter. A slight graze of her arm and Jiwoo's broke her focus on the amount of time the girls had left before they had to leave, and Sooyoung looked to her arm – then quickly looked away, clearing her throat."Alright, girls!" Sooyoung's voice boomed again, making sure that every corner of the apartment would hear her voice. "We gotta get out soon, so grab your stuff and come out."

 

A slight pouty face now looked to Jiwoo with a sigh. "Ugh, not looking forward to today. How are you feeling?" Sooyoung gestured to Jiwoo with her free hand while taking another sip of her sweetened coffee. If Jiwoo wasn't feeling well, maybe she needed to rest at home. A visit to the doctor's would fill up some time, and give Sooyoung a bit of time away from the rehearsal floor. If there was no issue, then perhaps everything will be as it was.

 

Jiwoo didn’t know why she really felt the need to say something like that, hammer it into Sooyoung’s skull and all that she *actually* cared for her. She couldn’t express how good these waffles were, for starters, but Sooyoung had always gone out of her way to do at least something for Jiwoo. Jiwoo had always worn her heart on her sleeve and she was quite easy to read, from the way her eyes would sparkle like a thousand stars when she was happy or when a gloomy sky painted itself over her. Not all of the members were the best at seeing what Jiwoo felt, but Sooyoung had always been there.

 

A smile spreads on her face and she poked Sooyoung’s cheek when she saw the pout. “I’m feeling good today. Rehearsals will be fine! All we’re doing is just reviewing XX and then we can go have fun. I’ll let you know if anything feels off though, I still need to shower!” She chugged the rest of her coffee while trying not to burn herself, wolfed down the rest of her waffle in the least ladylike way possible and practically sprinted off of her seat to go bargain with the two girls in the shower for a chance in the bathroom. Like every normal day for the girls, but maybe just a little closer for some of the members of loona. Jiwoo would certainly be okay today.

 

“Sooyoung! You made waffles?!” Yeojin practically shrieked, making others in the room winced as she zoomed over to check out what she had made for breakfast. Alas, their peace was broken for now. Yerim was quick to enter the scene with Yeojin, followed in by Vivi who was trying to put away leftovers so it wouldn’t spoil while they were gone. Jinsoul sits down beside Sooyoung, looking amused yet also mildly wanting to eat waffles.

 

As Jiwoo trotted off towards the bathroom, Sooyoung stood in the kitchen, alone. There wasn't much time alone each day to just be by one's self, and while there were shrieks and ramblings from other rooms, the quiet time with her coffee was embraced by Sooyoung. 

 

With the remainder of the waffles towering on a piled plate on the kitchen counter, Sooyoung was unable to stop the swarm of Loona ladies who were now in the kitchen area - drawn to the space by the aroma of freshly baked waffles. "Dig in," Sooyoung sighed, slowly walking back to put the cut strawberries back in the fridge while the clinking of plates - or just bare hands - grabbed the breakfast. "Where do you even put that in your stomach?” Sooyoung continued. "You just ate!"

 

It didn't matter. The morning was still a lot better than most. The routine was broken, which changed Sooyoung's mood. The nerves were getting to her but she wouldn't dare show it in front of the group. To her, the leader had to stay strong.

 

Haseul pats Sooyoung’s back, giving her a sheepish smile at the behavior of the younger members of the group. As the motherly member of the group, she could almost always read what other members felt and were able to make them feel better. She, though not being part of the leader line, at least knew Sooyoung’s troubles.

 

After some arguing and yelling, everyone was finally settled and hanging out in the living room before they had to go. Jiwoo had also gotten her time in the shower, and was now dressed with her signature hairstyle and her normal clothing. But instead of going around to goof off with the other members first, she instead sat by Sooyoung’s side with a smile etched on her face. The group were truly like children, a large family if they will, even if they were incredibly annoying at times. There was still no way someone could fit so many waffles in, though.

 

There were only two left by the time they were done, but Jiwoo was clinging onto Sooyoung’s side with a happy smile on her face. She was content with enjoying her time with the other members too, but Sooyoung looked like she needed someone to ease her troubles and worries. Even if she was part of the leader line and was more mature and responsible than others in their group, it didn’t mean that others couldn’t cater towards her too. Plus, they were probably fine on their own— LoonaTV would start soon anyways!

 

A reassuring look from Sooyoung offered Haseul the gratitude she shared of knowing how to wrangle these almost dozen girls to be somewhat organised, presentable - and without any claws out. 

 

As Jiwoo perched next to her, Sooyoung relaxed among the lunacy of a Loona morning. The waft of peach-scented shampoo hit Sooyoung's nose ever so softly, and a smile spread across her face. "You look great," Sooyoung's side glance at Jiwoo allowed her to show her smile. Jiwoo's hair always managed to look perfect and proper, even with minimal time. The reddish hue of her hair was such a great look for Jiwoo, Sooyoung thought.

 

A small nudge from Sooyoung's shoulder pushed Jiwoo. Sooyoung watched as some of the crew were chatting among themselves, while others quickly glanced at their phones. "Alright, I think we're good. Right?" Sooyoung clasped her knees with a slap.

 

Everyone wanted to wrangle each other at some point, it was only understandable. She gives her a wink before walking away to join Kahei’s side, in what seems to be a bratty argument between her and Yeojin.

 

Jiwoo was a little relieved that no one was bothering them, the pair attached at the hip just at the kitchen counter while others fought over waffles or ate in peace on the couch. Jiwoo has always been part of the groups that scream and yell in the mornings, but today, she was strangely quieted by Sooyoung’s presence and want to keep the girl company. Not that anyone minded really, she doubted Sooyoung did too, but it was just so relaxing to be around her right now. 

 

In fact, the red headed girl almost slumped against her shoulder until she felt a nudge begin waking her up again. She blinked and perked up before realizing it was time, nodding and standing up. Girls begin to file their way out of the room in a huge cluster, towards the outside world once more.


	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleepy Jiwoo turned to a conflicted one.. 
> 
> Continued from chapter one~~

Watching as the line of members slowly shuffling from the living room towards the door, all of the kerfuffle would be left behind, and in its place, giddy energy from the team. Once they walked through the condo doors, a whole plethora of different concerns would keep their minds busy. If there were any passers-by, it was important to keep to your public persona. Be playful, but don't overdo it. Interact with any fans, but don't let them be too close.

 

With the immediate nature of social media, being outside meant being more conscious about how the team talked and acted around each other. If there were rumours that needed to be quashed, two members would instead walk separately from each other. If there was a hassler, the others would work to protect and distract. The group was a unit, working together not just in rehearsals to perfect their craft, but supporting each other in the other elements of a K-pop artist's life.

 

The grind of the electronic door lock worked its magic, humming softly as the door closed with an eventual click. Sooyoung glanced back to see if the door had properly shut. Security was great in this condo, but sometimes the door wouldn't fully close – which led to an embarrassing intrusion with an eager fan trying to storm in before an abrupt resistance by Haseul, who was by the door at the time.

 

"Does everyone have what they need for today? No one's left a cell phone...Jinsoul?" Sooyoung playfully stretched out her name as she spoke it.

 

Soon enough, they’d be back in here fighting over the bathroom and who gets priority over what. Sometimes being an idol was icky for the girl group, when it came to things that they normally did in their routine. They had to live together, like they were family to really seal the deal on the fact that they were actually close and were part of each other’s lives. That’s what loona was about, and this girl group was incredibly accepting of others and more.

 

One of the real problems was that sometimes Korea seemed that it wasn’t ready for loona and what they did. They seemed far more westernized with other ideas conveyed throughout their music, but Korea didn’t seem to understand what they really meant. It was a strong topic sure, but with the way the album incident believed in them or other things like the big three shunning them, it was quite painful. Loona’s girls weren’t all strong, and something like that hurt the most.

 

At this point, Jiwoo didn’t really care if anyone say her hugging Sooyoung or holding onto her. Jiwoo was known to cling to anyone without having them protest, and even if they did it was hard for her to let go. But holding onto Sooyoung was warm, and just comforting to have the woman beside her. Everyone knows how loud Jiwoo had screamed when Sooyoung had done a random play dance once, and it pretty much became the highlight of the show.

 

Jinsoul scoffed and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. “One time, Sooyoung!” “Well actually, it was several, but whatever you say, Jindollie.” Jungeun smirked at her best friend, only then to be quickly tapped on the top of her head by Jinsoul’s purse. Jungeun stuck her tongue out at her as the two began to bicker, ensued by the rest of loona as well. Jiwoo ushered Sooyoung along to the car, tugging on her arm.

 

The comfort of the team van was a welcomed one. For at least a short while, they'd be able to sit back and let the driver take them to where they needed to go. The tinted windows were also a relief when the girls didn't want to have their full costume on if they were to appear at a red carpet. Photos of any of them without their shoes on for example would be an annoyance on social media. Who cares?

 

Following the tug of Jiwoo into the van, Sooyoung ducked her head and walked towards the back of the van to find the two seats by the right – her favorite, for it had extra space, and gave an armrest to the window. She edged Jiwoo to join her on the spot to share during the ride. Luckily there wasn't a fight to get that spot as most of the others wanted either the single seat, or the back row to try to squeeze more space.

 

The rolling of the sliding door echoed in the van, coming to a slamming shut bang that made the whole crew jump. "Every time," Sooyoung held her chest. She laid her arm by the exposed part of her stomach – protecting herself from the car's air conditioning – and rested the other on the arm rest, watching Jiwoo with a kind smile. "Good choice, Jiwooming," Sooyoung nudged her again.

 

Lucky for Loona, they were some of the few bands that hadn’t ever been caught with any kind of suspicious images or what social media can get off of. They are always incredibly safe with what they do, and people can’t take images of the girls properly unless it’s day time. Though, the girls are always fashionable and at least don’t embarrass themselves in the eye of the public— which is great for everyone in the end.

 

Everyone took their usual seats with Haseul in the front with the manager and the rest of the girls find their spots and who they wanted to sit with. On a normal day, Jiwoo would be sitting with Jungeun or with other girls if they had a conversation going, but today seemed like she was just going to be by Sooyoung the entire day. Which, Jiwoo didn’t mind at all, especially if their seat gave them room as well.

 

Jiwoo chuckled softly when Sooyoung jumped, though Jiwoo had as well, she hasn’t quite let go of Sooyoung’s arm yet. She stays against her side, her head now against her shoulder as the car started up. “Ahh.. this is nice, Sooyoungie.” It wasn’t exactly certain about what she was talking about that was ‘nice’, but considering the way Jiwoo looked just a little happier than usual when leaning against Sooyoung with crescent eyes and a silly smile it was fairly obvious by now that she was talking about just being with Sooyoung. The morning had exhausted her of wanting to do things with the group but instead, Jiwoo found freedom in her. Pleasantly enough for her, Sooyoung had accepted it so far.

 

Leaning into the cushions of the seat, Sooyoung took a deep breath in. A little tranquillity. It was nice to share a seat with Jiwoo, Sooyoung always thought, when she needed a bit of comfort like this. The weight of Sooyoung's torso as she leaned into Jiwoo's hold pushed her friend's body ever so slightly to the left. "It is nice," Sooyoung said, her eyes darting towards the window for a short while, watching the streets of inner Seoul through the dew on the window zoom on by.

 

For someone who Sooyoung wanted to look out for whenever she could, Jiwoo was a great counter balance when needed. With a little tug, Sooyoung tugged Jiwoo's arm closer, now using the attached shoulder as a makeshift pillow. "Should I just go to sleep?" Sooyoung chuckled. "That would be fine, right? We don't need to be anywhere just yet."

 

The low murmur of voices in front and behind her spoke of the day's proceedings, tempting fate to look online and read the latest reviews of XX, or just singing to themselves. A homely feeling even on the road, Sooyoung thought.

 

Jiwoo hummed happily as Sooyoung leaned back against her embrace, making her smile and adjust herself to make it the most comfortable for both of the Loona members. Jiwoo’s eyelids were already beginning to feel heavy with sleep, even if she had gotten enough this morning, it didn’t change the fact that she was absolutely not a morning person still. Jiwoo glanced up at Sooyoung and pulled her closer, snug against Jiwoo.

 

“Heekkie is already asleep, so I’m sure it’ll be fine. Manager will wake us up later.” She smiled sleepily at Sooyoung before closing her eyes altogether and falling limp against her shoulder to be welcomed by slumber. Heekkie, or Heejin, was in fact asleep against Hyunjin’s shoulder near the front, who seemed to be staring out the window as well.

 

Soon enough, Sooyoung was hearing the soft breaths of Jiwoo’s sleep like quiet encouragement to come join her in sleep as well. It wasn’t too long of a drive to the BBC buildings, but enough for the girls to sleep.

 

Dozing off hit Sooyoung pretty suddenly, perhaps the cosiness of her van seat partner was what brought her to a calm, serene nap. Especially in a van filled with sugary pastry-loaded performers giddy to get the day started. The quick bursts of imagery jolting in Sooyoung's mind during her nap were not enough to remember like a dream, though as her eyes began to flutter open - her movements slow as she came to - she recalled having a feeling of warmth. "That--" Sooyoung glanced at Jiwoo's closed eyes, seemingly still asleep.

 

Leaning the side of her head against Jiwoo's, Sooyoung stared at the window as the van pulled up to the security gate. With a small wave of her fingers she mouthed hello to the guard, who in turn waved back - unaware of who he was waving to from the tint of the window - and the van continued into the car park entry to the basement. The basement car park had its advantages when the girls wanted to avoid anyone seeing them when they had their off days. Luckily that hadn't been an occurrence for some time. "Hey, we're here, penguin," Sooyoung softly said, her hand slightly pressed against the front of Jiwoo's shoulder for a little support.

 

It usually wasn’t easy for Jiwoo to fall asleep, as she was a restless ball of energy with a megawatt smile and eyes that shined like mini stars. But today, she didn’t know why it was so odd. None of the others seemed to note the way she hadn’t been bothering them all day, but being focused on Sooyoung alone was surprisingly nice. Maybe it was because they had spent their time together in the kitchen, doing nothing but cooking and laughing and enjoying the short time they had together. It made her happy, happier than she would have expected.

 

It seems that on rare occasion was Jiwoo able to fall asleep easily and quickly, but today was a different story. Jiwoo wondered why she felt no need to be around anyone else, why Sooyoung was just so tempting to hold onto and cradle against. It made Jiwoo feel at peace with herself, the same kind of serenity that Sooyoung had been talking about. It wasn’t anything like sunshine, but it felt like this warmth that she could grasp onto and hold on tight. It was a gentle light that she didn’t quite understand how it worked, or why it made her feel so light and sweet. It left some kind of honey against her taste buds, a comforting taste that seemed to slow her world down into a state of peace.

 

Thick eyelashes flutter and twitch before gently pulling the curtain away from her vision. She squints for a moment, trying to fully register what was going on. That is, until she saw Sooyoung sitting right before her, smiling down at the little penguin. A smile begins to stretch across her face, eyes turning to sweet crescents as she sits up and stretches. Her cheeks are slightly flushed, now just returning to her puffy cheeks after waking up. Her eyes close and her nose scrunches up, before she turns to Sooyoung and gives her a sleepy but adoring look of fondness. She reaches over to gently take her hand wordlessly, fingers intertwining beneath the hidden cover of Jiwoo’s jacket. She sits there with her silently as the other members shuffle out, fighting sleep or bubbling with excitement.

 

The redhead slowly stands once everyone is out of the van, hair disheveled from being asleep and leaning against Sooyoung the entire time. Her hand is soft and gentle, delicate as she quietly tugs Sooyoung out towards the exit to the opened car van. Her features look so gentle, much like her peaceful rest while they were in the car. Jiwoo takes a slow step out of the van, Sooyoung in toe as she waddles along the concrete floor towards the entrance of the parking garage. Some of the members notice Jiwoo’s sleepiness, though at least have a heart to leave the girl and Sooyoung alone. After what had happened this morning, it only makes sense that she would cling to her unnie. It’s a nice day for practice and an especially better one for Jiwoo and Sooyoung while they make their way to the practice room, and another normal day for Loona.

 

A strong imprint of those eyes that looked back at Sooyoung in the van remained in her mind as the group strolled through the hallways to head to practice. Something about Jiwoo's gaze was leaving a powerful guttural feeling inside of Sooyoung. It had been a while since there'd ever been that explainable crunchy or tingly feeling under the stomach, and not an explanation as to what it was, but it was still foreign enough to play in Sooyoung's mind.

 

The hand wrapped around hers was so soft, and so simply kept the two side-by-side without any reason for it to be anything else than to simply be with each other. There had been many moments the two of them shared with laughter, loudness and calm. In fact, rarely did they ever butt heads together. 

 

As the first of the girls began to walk through the double doors that led into the lobby of BBC Entertainment, the echo of concrete on heels and shoes became claps on polished wooden floors. The usual fluttering of PAs, producers, videographers and work experience crew following all of the above kept the space busy, and it isn't long before a few of them turn to the squad of girls walking through. The manager gives them a look to remind them to keep their gaze to themselves, and led the team forward – past the front desk, where a polite bow and smile was given by the two attendants as each of the girls gave a smile or a tiny wave of their fingers in acknowledgement – to the escalators to guide them to the third floor.

 

As each person stepped on the moving stairs, a clip-clop of two feet signaled they were stable, and almost in a synchronized fashion, the left hand of each of them clasped onto the railing to the left. Sooyoung kept her hand attached to Jiwoo as she stood on first, holding the railing with the other hand and glancing at the floor-to-roof windows of the first and second floor.

 

Peering through, Sooyoung spotted the usual crowd of desk-dwelling workers who were trained not to gawk at the people heading up the escalators – unfair to them, sitting by a large window that literally showed celebrities zipping up one by one. There was always the petite girl at one of the desks – straightened hair, bright red lipstick, a bit of colour wrapped around her neck to fend off the chilly air conditioning of the building – that couldn't help herself to look. Sooyoung loved to look at her very quickly with a glare, then smile. The silliest of games with a total stranger, but a frequent one she participated in.

 

Today she was already looking at the group, and Sooyoung darted her look back to face the front, preparing herself to give her usual playful glare and smile. With a whip of her neck, she looked to the girl through the window with a pouty face. Instead of the usual pout back, Sooyoung caught the shocked expression on the woman's face. Sooyoung's face loosened from a pout to a subtle look of confusion. Something had surprised her. By now the escalator had already moved halfway up the floor, but Sooyoung caught glimpse of the woman raising her hands, and clasping them together with the fingers threading one by one. Sooyoung tightened her right hand. "Oh."

 

They had held hands plenty of times before, as Jiwoo and Sooyoung were usually almost always in the same area as one another. Today she felt fluttery, gleeful, bubbling with excitement that was soothed over by the warmth of Sooyoung’s hand. Keeping them together, binding them as one, and making Jiwoo incredibly happy. Though, she would never admit that to the woman or any other members due to the simple fact that she would most likely be teased and laughed at playfully. Right now she didn’t need that, but instead would rather focus on keeping Sooyoung right beside her. It wasn’t even that cold out but she still felt the need to hold onto the woman, even at one point having their shoulders brush together on accident. Accident sure, Jiwoo was still just happy to be around her. Jiwoo squeezed her hand as they enter.

 

The usual staff members greet them, moving to the side to allow the celebrities to make way. The staff were nice people, though they weren’t allowed to talk to them often since they were always ushered off into doing something else. Jiwoo didn’t really mind, but the staff worked so hard for them, and a little more than thanks would be nice. Today was just a normal practice day though, there was nothing to really gawk over with the girls just being in casual clothing. BlockBerry Creative was a small company and wasn’t well known, so the building wasn’t too big as well. Naturally though, it was enough for the idols to work and other groups as well and trainees. Not that there were any now, since they had just previously made a comeback, but exciting nonetheless. BlockBerry Creative has quite a lot of money too, and was able to fund the girls for their needs and necessities.

 

Jiwoo was friendly enough with staff members. She was often seen as a little sister and needed a little help here and there, but otherwise was fine. Today though, being around the capable Sooyoung who usually babysitter them, it made sense for some staff to steer away. Others would wave at Jiwoo and she would grin and give a cheerful hello back, and it seemed that wherever the girls went sunshine and a aura of joy followed them. It wasn’t on purpose, but the group were young and some only just graduating from high school and still in it to be in this group. It was always fun though, especially when Jiwoo could tease and joke around with them.

 

At the sudden pause of Sooyoung’s, she looks up at her with a curious yet innocent look. She had felt her fingers tighten around her own, but didn’t really know the cause of it. “Sooyoungie?” She asked softly, “Are you alright?” She hadn’t exactly noted the glare and the pout, but the look on her face was something different. Now she was starting to wonder if Jiwoo herself had done anything wrong, anxiety beginning to crawl in her head of all the possible ways she had crossed the line. This was nothing new though, so it was becoming rather difficult for her to understand. Sooyoung feels Jiwoo’s hand begin to warm and sweat a little bit with her shoulders becoming more tense, tighter, and the girl feels like she’s about to explode.

 

The muscles in Sooyoung's ear tighten with the tone that Jiwoo gave in her concern, and in response gives a few squeezes of the hand in assurance. "N-no no, yeah, things are fine," Sooyoung turned to side-glance back towards Jiwoo. Sooyoung's voice was a little wavery in tone. "Just...I'll tell you in a bit."

 

The escalator was no place to explain the lasting game she played with the curious stranger, and what threw her off this time around. Was the woman shocked by what she saw? There was nothing sinister about it, or wrong, right? The two had done nothing wrong. Just two friends holding hands on an escalator.

 

Maybe the lady though it impractical to hand-hold while not being side-by-side. Sooyoung was trying to decipher the reason for the reaction but was interrupted by the top of the escalator causing the toe of her shoe to clip on the teeth and cause a little jolt and hop forward. Not smooth at all, she thought.

 

Looking back, she still clenched Jiwoo's hand. Solidifying in her head, Sooyoung didn't want to let go. Whether or not the woman approved of their hand holding shouldn't give any second thoughts or doubts, Sooyoung concluded. If Yves wanted to hold hands with Chuu, get over it, people!

 

Waiting for Jiwoo to follow, Sooyoung turned sideways to have a better eye on her walking companion. "Sorry. Stick close or I might just fall over," Sooyoung laughed off the clumsiness.

 

Jiwoo tried to relax a little bit, trying to pass it off as just feeling anxious and overthinking everything. She gives Sooyoung a light nod, trusting that she would explain later and that Jiwoo wouldn’t need to be frantically running around and trying to figure out the meaning of life without her best friend. Okay, maybe that was a bit much.

 

Jiwoo was unsure of what Sooyoung would have to freak out about when it came to these kinds of things. They were only on an escalator and there really wasn’t anything to freak out over, maybe one of the members had untied shoes or something, but still. Jiwoo pursed her lips and focused her gaze on her feet until she feels Sooyoung tug on her hand from almost tripping.

 

Her brows furrow and she thinks for a moment. Sooyoung isn’t the clumsy type and Jiwoo knows that well, as the woman hardly ever gets hurt excluding the one time she had hurt her nose when Yeojin tripped on her. Still, that was besides the point and Jiwoo was only growing more worried for her friend.

 

Jiwoo was going to let go of her hand, but feeling Sooyoung squeeze it tighter she gave in and just stayed with holding onto her hand. The sweat between them was almost uncomfortable, but Jiwoo didn’t really want to let go either. She lets out a soft sigh and rubs her free hand against her thigh, feeling nervous once more.

 

Jiwoo was plenty skeptical of her, but instead of showing it all she did was smile carelessly and laugh as if nothing had happened to at least make their atmosphere a little less awkward. “Silly Sooyoungie.”

 

Sooyoung's grip eventually loosened and released, now noticing the porous wetness from such tight handholding. Sooyoung didn't realize just how hard she was holding into Jiwoo. "A-actually," Sooyoung looked to Jiwoo as she spoke again, this time moving her hand to Jiwoo's lower arm with the slightest of tugs. "Can I talk for just a sec?" 

 

Ahead, Chaewon turned to look back at the two girls as they pulled back from the squad to talk, nudging Hyejoo to look. The second head turned, then looked back at Chaewon with a raised eyebrow. Sooyoung could've sworn the smallest of smiles curved along the side of Chaewon's lips. 

 

Sooyoung slowed her walk, and without flinching Haseul maneuvered around the slowing bodies and continued into the training hall. As the rest of the crew funneled their way through the double doors to BlockBerry's training studio, only the two girls remained outside. "I just had this strange moment," Sooyoung released her grip again, this time holding her elbows with her hands. "There's this girl in one of those offices. Whenever we go up I full a face and she does too. Just dumb fun. But...she just..." Sooyoung was visibly trying to piece together what she wanted to say. "...had this reaction to it this time. I think she was reacting to...me. Or this," Sooyoung released her hold of her elbows, and began to mimic the joining of the hands together." It just unsettled me. I don't know why."

 

Jiwoo’s hand was slightly paler due to being held onto so tightly. She glanced down at it, wondering what could have gotten on Sooyoung’s nerves so much for her to have to actually squeeze tightly enough to the point where Jiwoo thought her hand was almost numb. Jiwoo looks up at Sooyoung and nodded, allowing Sooyoung to slowly pull them away from the group.

 

When they were finally away from the group, Jiwoo was equally confused as she was worried. Not that she was really showing it, but the way her eyes soften and glimmer with a soft shine and how her features seem to drop a bit is actually quite saddening, even if it’s not much at all. The facial expressions she can pull are deadly. “So.. would you like me not to hold your hand anymore, if that had made you uncomfortable?” That was the most she was getting out of this really, and she couldn’t exactly make proper eye contact with Sooyoung’s obsidian orbs. Instead her gaze is fixed onto the floor, hands dangling at either side of her body. Jiwoo wouldn’t be mad at Sooyoung if she didn’t want to hold hands anymore, it was just the guilt eating away at her for making Sooyoung feel so off. Jiwoo didn’t want her to feel like that.

 

Some staff pass by them, but seeing the mood that’s beginning to come off of them, they decide to give them their time for now until they’re ready. Jiwoo is thankful for that, but she’s not sure if she’ll ever be ready to face something like this upfront. She can’t even look at Sooyoung’s eyes.

 

Sooyoung's words spoke true. The fear of ever having to hide who she was gave her a fright. If that woman was reacting out of dislike, what would others be thinking? But, Sooyoung thought, what if that girl was merely excited to see Yves holding hands with Chuu? The two of them were a strong part of the 'stan LOONA' movement in a way that gave the group an extra level of support.

 

Korea had been for too long uncomfortable with those that didn't fit into the status quo. Of things they didn't understand, or that society just never represented enough. Sooyoung had seen the change they made already, supporting the notion of loving one's self, no matter what they may be. The group had helped Sooyoung come to terms with how wonderful it is to be different, and to embrace it. "I want this, of course. It just looked like she was not happy to see this, but the more I think about it, maybe she did..."

 

A lot of thoughts had at once hit her mind, and none of them clear enough to make sense, or at least calm the fire within her belly. Sooyoung takes one of her hands to touch Jiwoo's cheek, trying to turn her head to look at her. "Seriously, I wasn't ever asking to stop. I want to be whatever I am with you. It--" Sooyoung's voice quivered a little. Why did this one event shake her so?

 

Jiwoo understood well enough that being idols meant that they had to do certain things and not do others, like hand holding in public. But if anything, Jiwoo had always showered Sooyoung in affection and never had any problem with the media. If anything, they enjoyed watching Sooyoung and Jiwoo interact even if it was just as their personas, Yves And Chuu. She didn’t deny that it hurt slightly, though.

 

“Unnie,” Instead of letting her continue, Jiwoo steps forward and wraps her arms tightly around Sooyoung into a warm and comfortable embrace. Her head is pressed against Sooyoung’s shoulders, eyes closed and taking in the familiar apple scent that came off of her. She doesn’t let go of her, like she’s telling her it’ll be okay, and that they can be whoever they want to be around each other. After all, this was Loona, one of the most welcoming girl groups and the most remarkable. Something like this wouldn’t bring them down.

 

“It’s okay, Unnie.” Her voice is low and hushed, taking on a soothing tone just for her. “We’re okay. You can be whatever you are, who you are, and do what you’d like to. But worrying so much about her, what just one person thinks..” Jiwoo met her gaze, “that won’t affect you. And I’d hate to see you become so scared, Sooyoungie, please don’t be scared. I want you to feel safe.. and maybe one day I’ll be able to do that for you too.” 

 

But nothing fell wrong about it. Jiwoo made Sooyoung feel incredible and supported and loved, no matter what situation they were in. What else can one ask for from someone who you share such intimate and important moments with? Sooyoung leaned into the hug with her torso, her body pushing into Jiwoo's with the kind of hold that feels more like the physical support was needed more, in case the body buckled. Unsure of how long she was being propped up by her colleague, Sooyoung pulled slightly away – back to the same distance they had just before the embrace. There was an incredible stirring happening with in the stomach of her as she spoke.

 

Nothing had felt so confusing, and evoked so many contrasting emotions as what was going on right now. Sooyoung had looked to her friend's eyes and was about to ask whether she would have the same feelings, but instead the words weren't coming out as naturally has she had hoped.

 

It was a lot of stuttering and pauses – not long pauses, but just enough to show there was hesitation with trying to find how to speak – to Jiwoo. Unable to speak exactly what she wanted to speak, Sooyoung instead took both of her hands and held them together in front of her, and looked towards her. "Thank you," Sooyoung said a quick movement of one of their hands to dab the side of her eye, in what Jiwoo might have noticed was a slight tear. "I'm okay. Everything's okay. Are you?" There was a slight haziness in Sooyoung's eyes as she looked towards Jiwoo for an answer.

 

A lot of what was going on was only in Sooyoung's head, and yet she didn't even consider what might be going through her head. Normally she was the supportive one, and even now was still very unsure on how to handle being the comforted one. It was a regression to her younger self – more doubtful and confused self – that she would meet every now and then.

 

One day the time would come for Jiwoo to say everything on her mind, what she thought, what she felt, the surprising dimness that could be hidden away so well simply just by smiling at someone. Jiwoo had never been gloomy or sad, as the happy woman never felt a need to feel such emotions. Nothing could drag her down and she had even promised herself that it would all be okay and she would be too, nothing else mattered.

 

Listening to Sooyoung made her think about all the times where she felt pushed away or incapable of doing what she wanted, like she didn’t get a choice in what she did. It was never usually a problem when she was a child, but later on, the world felt harsher. It was scary, like she was inches away from the edge with grains of sand crumbling off the side. A long process that would force her to wait, wait until the day the stable ground under her feet shattered in order for her to fall.

 

Loona represents all of these lessons and concepts that Jiwoo admires, how creative BBC can be and how close Loona had become. They were one, huge family now. This was something she couldn’t back away from and certainly something she didn’t want to turn from either. It was her home, it was her life, it was everything that mattered. The closest people to her were in Loona apart from her family and she couldn’t simply forget about it. Too much.

 

When she feels Sooyoung begin to relax in the hug, hugging her back, Jiwoo closed her eyes and sighed to enjoy the embrace. They would need to pull away soon but this was what she needed right now, a source of warmth to light up this dim hallway that doesn’t seem to have an end. Each day maybe, just a taste of heat, something to brighten it all, the hallway could disappear from around her and she would be free. When she was in Sooyoung’s arms, she wasn’t aware of what was around her except for those thin arms that could do so much more than just do a measly hug. It was an amazing feeling to have, being with Sooyoung.

 

Jiwoo can’t really interpret what Sooyoung is saying, but she was just about to reach out and wipe away what liquid had been forming. And then, the question. The brightness in Jiwoo’s eyes flickers for a moment, a dark and stormy cloud appearing and then leaving as quick as it had came and struck. Sunshine returns, and her faltering smile widens slightly into the usual smile that she can quickly give out to anyone. Jiwoo squeezed her hands and let go, shoving them in her pocket and eliminating any chance of hand holding. “I’m fine. Let’s head back.”


	3. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title 'Chuuves' feels more and more pressuring.

The heart thumping didn't slow as Sooyoung watched Jiwoo react to the mess of emotions that she expressed in such a short amount of time. It didn't slow as Sooyoung felt Jiwoo's hands wrap around hers, then darted into her pockets. It felt like Sooyoung just lost a piece of connection to a friend – all because of a stupid blabbering of confusion.

 

A small, curt nod followed, and with a small gesture of her hand, Sooyoung let Jiwoo walk into the practice hall. Sooyoung watched her friend walk in – her reddish hair flicking left and right slightly as she did – and took one more breath in. This time, she would shed any visible discomfort from her face, and move back to her confident leader self.

 

Catching the swinging door as it swung back after Jiwoo walked through, Sooyoung pushed into the fluorescent-lit room. On the roof towering above them was a lighting rig set up to simulate spotlights. It was a basic rig compared to what they'd see on stage, but enough for finding their marks and knowing how to work with the room a spotlight would give. This room had given the team so many powerful moments of breaking through hard work to nail a great dance performance. The songs were written, choreographed, and now ingrained in all of their minds. Honing their craft just took practice.

 

Sooyoung caught the glances of the other women – some in stretching mode, some sitting on the ground and chatting – as they both walked in. Hopefully both of their faces were convincing enough to not raise suspicion that something may have happened. "Right!" Sooyoung boomed, a cheeky smile on her face. "Let's start with 'love4eva'?" she looked to her manager, who was busy looking at a phone screen.

 

Jiwoo didn’t do it on purpose, having to quiet what she really wanted to say. It was just by reaction, the way she handles things, because future her could take it later. It wasn’t healthy, but Jiwoo couldn’t admit that to anyone. At least, not yet. Jiwoo couldn’t see the friendship between Sooyoung and her and the crackling in between, because her stage persona filled in all the cracks.

 

The smile on Jiwoo’s face was so easily done, like she really was used to this— what she did, how she felt, how often she did it. It was almost concerning and Sooyoung had only caught the smallest glimpse of the other side, and the scariest parts of the young adult hidden away underneath.

 

Immediately, Jiwoo bounced into what she normally did. She was so convincing except for the fact that she wasn’t swooning or clinging to Sooyoung, and instead messing around with Jinsoul and Jungeun off in the corner. Her laugh was so bright, but no one seemed to pick up on the slightest bit of distaste hidden underneath it all. The practice room was familiar to Jiwoo, where everything had come to life, and where members spent extensive periods of time trying to figure out the way things worked or how they happened. Hands, legs, the slightest shift of the torso could change the entire performance, perfection was key.

 

When she heard Sooyoung call out the song, she bounces up immediately and skips over, though not bombarding Sooyoung in a hug this time. Like she’s not touching her, making her feel nice on purpose. Chaewon and Hyejoo seem to notice but they don’t say anything, instead quietly observing and pressed closely together.

 

Seeing Jiwoo so fluidly fall back into her bubbly self was incredible to Sooyoung, yet also slightly unsettling inside. Why Sooyoung was hoping for Jiwoo to struggle as much as she did, she was uncomfortable thinking that at all. Best that Jiwoo did, she thought, or else the room would see something was up, and ten curious girls can be overwhelming. Sooyoung wasn't sure she'd be able to keep it together.

 

As the formation of the first beat of the song began to take shape, Sooyoung looked around the room to see the determination on her team's faces. All eyes were facing the front mirrors. Dedication. Sooyoung was proud to be among friends like this. Jinsoul, Jungeun, Hyejoo, Jiw--

 

Looking at Jiwoo recreated that crunch in Sooyoung's lower stomach. "Shake it off," Sooyoung thought to herself, turning back to the mirror, and with a slight lift of her right knee, formed a pirouette to start the first movement of the song.

 

"Three, two..." the countdown echoed in the room before the first synth boomed through the speakers.

 

Throughout the dance, Jiwoo didn’t spare Sooyoung a glance. Nothing. It was as if they had never stared at each other from across the room, looked at each other in the dance and smiled, touch hands for longer than they had to. This was Jiwoo, a professional dancer that knew what she was doing. Jiwoo moved perfectly to the beat, just as they always had. Perfection had been hammered into her and she wouldn’t let it down.

 

When the song come to an end, everyone else was breathing heavily and trying to recover from such an energetic song. But Jiwoo was staring off at the mirror, staring into it and at herself. A thought passed her mind and she tries to wave it off, but it’s never fully gone no matter what she does.

 

Instead, Jiwoo is pulled away by Yerim and Yeojin to go play a game. For a split second, Yerim meets Sooyoung’s gaze and gives her a knowing look. Like she knows what’s going on, and a small smile before turning away with the fellow maknaes. Jiwoo’s back to her bubbly self.

 

Chaewon is the first to approach their leader, Hyejoo close behind her. “Are you okay, Unnie?”

 

"...timeline..."

 

The arms point straight up, buckle at the elbows and drag across the chest in a horizontal slide from together to wide, then back again. A flick of the head. A wink and a turn.

 

"...love forever..."

 

All the steps and beats were being met, and flow was being kept. Then a small glance of Jiwoo in her peripheral made Sooyoung stumble on her next foot slide from left to right. Something was still off.

 

"...come on, come on baby..."

 

Come on, Sooyoung scolded herself in her head, trying to keep up.

 

The song finished with a room of panting people. The sentiment was that it was a good run, but there is a slight quizzical look on Yerim's face. Sooyoung knew her mistakes were visible, but Yerim's reaction softened the self-conscious voice saying she was dragging the rest down with her mistakes. At least, that's what Sooyoung made of that look. Every moment was now being second-guessed by Sooyoung, and she wasn't liking any bit of it.

 

As Chaewon and Hyejoo approached, Sooyoung's eyes fluttered to focus on the two. "Hey," a slight breath-filled reply came from Sooyoung. "Yeah, yeah. That was good. I missed a beat there, but. Sorry."

 

Chaewon pursed her lips, like she was trying to figure out the right way to say this. Lucky for her, Hyejoo spoke up before Chaewon could screw something up.

 

“You and Jiwoo, Sooyoung. You were fine earlier, but something happened. Do you need to talk?”

 

It was clear the younger girl was just trying to put it down nicely and not push her to say anything, since they all really did care for Sooyoung’s health. Jiwoo was off joking around with Yeojin and Yerim, something about avocados or something. Even when Sooyoung makes a mistake, it was usually Jiwoo who came up to her. Their leader was perfect, but the others knew better. Yet the world was harsh and wouldn’t accept that it was just a mistake.

 

Chaewon gives Sooyoung a frown. “Jiwoo spoke to us a little bit earlier. She said that she was probably going to leave practice early since she has some work to finish up. Maybe you can.. go with her?” 

 

Whatever Jiwoo planned to do in the time she had before the rest of the group caught up probably wouldn’t be a good thing, especially since yyxy didn’t have anything to do near the end and no one could say no to her. Jiwoo could get away with a lot of things, and this too.

 

But what would she do?

 

"Some work to--" Sooyoung's face scrunched up a little. What was Jiwoo doing, and why was Chaewon suggesting Sooyoung go with her? "I--sure, of course. Everything's fine, Vanilla...Marceline. Thanks for checking. I'll go with her."

 

Sooyoung's gaze wasn't on Chaewon, but more distant, unfocused. It wasn't uncommon for the girls to go with at least another person, just in case. While definitely not as big as the other pop groups out there to have to worry about security guards and the like, it was always good to make sure there were at least two together for company.

 

For Sooyoung, perhaps this would be a good opportunity to iron things out better with Jiwoo without the pressures of the day's schedule clouding their minds. Maybe it would give Sooyoung some time to work out what she was trying to say – or feel – better.

 

Chaewon gives her a weak smile and Hyejoo seems slightly relieved, with the way her shoulders seem to relax. They were equally worried about their friend, but maybe no for the same reasons. At least Sooyoung could help.

 

Time flies in the practice room, maybe slower on Sooyoung’s point of view. Slow enough where hardly anyone noticed Jiwoo leaving except for the manager, who waves her goodbye as the girl slips away to do her own thing. Jiwoo’s gaze is set forward and she doesn’t speak as she goes, walking quickly down the hallways and hoping that no one would follow her.

 

Jiwoo didn’t know where she was going or what she wanted to do. She just felt.. a little lost. Not that she showed it, but a good walk and pace could surely help clear her mind a little bit. Hopefully, anyways? She walks out of the building, shivering slightly at the warm temperature compared to the cool AC of the practice room.

 

It wasn't until the slight 'woof' of air rushing through the double doors as they closed that Sooyoung perked up. Someone just left, she thought. Doing the numbers in her head, she scanned the room with a wipe of her brow to see who wasn't visible. "Jiwooming," she breathed out – the obvious one. Jiwoo had something to do.

 

Moving out of the lights of the stage and grabbing her thin burgundy tracksuit top, Sooyoung rushed out without notifying the rest she was leaving. Pushing the doors open, she could hear the chatter of her team explaining something – perhaps that the two of them needing something done.

 

Rushing to the escalators down, she could see in the distance the familiar red hair bobbing left and right, through the front doors. Sooyoung took the rail of the escalator and stepped down hurriedly, only quickly glancing over to the same seat that the woman at her desk sat – this time she was already looking, a smile on her face, and a slight point down with her hand towards the bottom of the escalator.

 

Reaching the front door, the chilled air hit Sooyoung's perspiring face and she retaliated with a wipe of her arm. Jiwoo had just turned down a street to her left, which Sooyoung followed with a fast walking pace.

 

Jiwooming knew the streets of this place like the back of her hand. After moving here, her parents had made sure that she knows everywhere and every place’s name. It was like studying for another test but eventually she got used to it, and she was going to make the most out of this. Of course she was recognizable as an idol, but the area BBC had chosen wasn’t too populated and thus gave her enough non-facial recognition. 

 

It was nice to not have to worry about herself and covering up, even though there were a few pictures of her out there taken by a fan. She didn’t really care at the moment. Instead, she opted on taking the trickiest little twists and turns through buildings to get to where she wanted to go, which also made for a fun adventure for her as well.

 

Jiwoo makes another turn and this time she’s faced with a small park that was mostly used by little kids only. But today.. Jiwoo needed an outlet. She makes for the park where she noticed a few birds in the playing area. She watched them before walking around to go play with a small ball in the corner, shrugging off her jacket and wrapping it around her waist. She placed the ball down and smiled a confident smirk.

 

Back and forth, she bounced the ball between her feet and her knees like she had been doing these moves for her entire life. Which technically, she has, she just hasn’t done it in a while, and eventually was even confident enough in bouncing it off her elbows and trying to bounce it far enough as to not touch the floor and into the goal. She remembers this game as a challenge by her fellow classmates in elementary school in order to get as much energy out of them as possible. Jiwoo’s thoughts were temporarily erased, and she begins to truly enjoy the blissful ignorance that the activity brought her.

 

It brings back memories of her hometown, and her body finds its familiar rhythm to the gentle taps of the ball against her converse. It’s like a dance, but it’s so much more at the same time. The red headed woman may be older than those who normally occupied it, but she really didn’t need someone telling her what to do at the moment.

 

Jiwoo's speedy walk wasn't helping Sooyoung to keep a low profile while trying to follow her through down smaller streets and narrow alleyways – past BBQ restaurants slowly opening their shutters to prepare for the day ahead and street vendors still cleaning up the lunch rush and preparing for the eventual dinner rush. Already Sooyoung was feeling the effects of a more tiresome than usual day, but after the fourth corner of trailing Jiwoo, she was gone. Exasperation fell on Sooyoung's face as she darted her head down adjoining streets, desperate to catch the friend who bolted faster than she could keep up with.

 

A mixture of muscle tiredness and stomach ache was preventing Sooyoung from keeping better composure, and soon her power walk turned into a quick shuffle, then to a normal paced walk. Perhaps Sooyoung would miss Jiwoo on her little excursion, and it would still be fine.

 

Looking into the windows of the stores that took over the view of her eyes, she peered at a fishmonger's stall – the weathered man wiping up a heavily battered cutting board kept to himself. Eventually his gaze caught the black pants of a slim woman who stood tall – which wasn't hard considering he was slouched on a stool. "Hm?" his bushy eyebrow raised, eyeing up the gorgeous woman in front of him. "You lost?"

 

"Sort of," Sooyoung mumbled. "Lost a friend."

 

"Want a new one?" the low grumble turned into a chuckle as he placed a hand over a freshly cleaned herring. "This one doesn't talk much, but."

 

A nervous, single laugh returned, followed by a slow look away, from Sooyoung. Clearing his throat, the fishmonger realized he may have frightened the woman with his joke. "My apologies. An old man tends to have a warped sense of humor. Kind of need to, these days. People buying their fish from Lotte Mart more than us. Then you have two pretty women run on by..."  
Sooyoung's eyes lit up. "Two?" she quizzed.

 

"You're not the only pretty one, missy," the fishmonger retorted. "Red haired lady. She had a--"  
"Which way?" Sooyoung's head turned left and right to judge how much distance Jiwoo could have traveled.  
"Thataw--" the fishmonger's voice trailed off as Sooyoung bolted to the right – a renewed sense of urgency now that she lost a fair amount of time. Another turn around the corner revealed another street, with an opening not too far down that looked like a park, or a green space.

 

The approach to the park was slow. Sooyoung heard distant thumps of a ball, giving her assurance that maybe the kids could give fresh directions. Except there weren't any kids. Alone, with her back turned to Sooyoung, was Jiwoo dribbling a soccer ball. Sooyoung stopped in her tracks, now watching the footwork of her fellow performer in her own element. A different stage, performing only to herself. Now that Jiwoo was found, Sooyoung could focus on how she would finally talk to her about the little emotional outburst in the hopes of repairing what damage she caused.

 

The tough bounce of rubber hitting her knees and then her feet could be heard echoing throughout the rather empty park. It wasn’t anything large, definitely no bigger than their own practice room, and really did have the kind of small-homey feeling in the neighborhood. It couldn’t be why Jiwoo had retreated here, to avoid everyone else and just focus on herself. If Jiwoo just stayed quiet about everything, it would vanish eventually and lay forgotten. It would be okay. But.. this was Sooyoung that she was thinking about. Did Jiwoo really want the woman to forget about her?

 

Only now did Jiwoo begin to realize how much she missed the feeling of home. Loona, they were her home and they were her family.. but it never really truly felt like it. They looked after her and made sure she didn’t die, and they were her friends, but what else could they do as her family?

 

With the thought fresh and hot in her head, the ball drops from her lack of concentration and begins to roll away. Jiwoo just stares at it, lips pursed her lips and her heart racing. This wasn’t what she wanted to think about. This— she came here to be alone from her head, knowing just a few minutes can save her from doing something dumb later. Jiwoo couldn’t help it. She missed the Odd Eye Circle, she missed 1/3, yyxy, Sooyoung. Truly, Jiwoo how long would Jiwoo and sooyoung be able to last throughout this torture? Jiwoo couldn’t be like this forever could she?

 

Her eyes begin to water. She knows what’s about to happen, and she doesn’t want it. None of this. Jiwoo suddenly puts the ball away, and then jumps over the small, foot-high concrete wall and runs. She runs down the streets, running left and right with no clue where she’s going now. Jiwoo wants to blow off all of this energy, the fear, the anger, the sadness, forget about it all. Jiwoo can tire herself out physically and emotionally and that’s precisely what she’ll do, and then avoid later. A good plan? No, but it will keep her safe and others too. For now, anyways.

 

The sudden outburst of energy surprises Sooyoung, who had only moments before watched her good friend spend time to herself to what seemed to be calm down and meditate in her own way. Jiwoo hadn't seen her yet, which is what Sooyoung wanted - at least for now. Calling out to her would only cause things to be more strange, following her like that in a sneaky way. What way was that to build trust with a friend you disturbed the status quo of? 

 

Seeing her dance colleague bolt off in a hurry, Sooyoung instead stood, alone, on a street with no one on it, unable to talk to the one person that could help her through what she was going through. A slight wobble of her legs told Sooyoung she needed to sit, and so she found solace on the bench by the corner of the park. 

 

Where she sat, alone, and began to feel the first droplets of tears fall onto the backs of her hands.

 

Nighttime soon fell and both girls had to return to the condo. Jiwoo had sat alone in the front seat, and she didn’t seem interested in talking to anyone. She spent the entire ride staring out the window or down at her hands in her lap, while the rest of the girls were still bubbling with energy. But the fellow yyxy members knew something was up, and even a few others were beginning to catch on.

 

When they arrived, they sat in the living room to debate for dinner. But instead of saying anything too, Jiwoo had gone straight to their shared room and closed the door behind her to crash onto her bed. It seemed like she didn’t really want to talk to anyone right now, and both of their problems were only getting worse. Jiwoo wanted to make Sooyoung happy, but Sooyoung could be happy without her when Jiwoo was unable to do things for herself. She couldn’t say that she was okay anymore and laugh it off. She glanced over at Sooyoung when the older woman wasn’t looking only to sigh with an aching of hurt rumbling through her.

 

Jiwoo curled up on her bed, after having showered and gotten ready. The blanket was pulled over her with her face in her pillow, plushies long forgotten beside her. The once happy Jiwoo was gone, and left with one who didn’t know what anything was anymore.  
Hyejoo seemed especially upset today after watching the behavior of their leader and their fellow member. She had sat down beside Sooyoung, practically glaring holes into her (though not on purpose) in hopes that she would do something. Almost all of the members had caught on, even the stupid Jinsoul and lentil bean.

 

“Hey, Sooyoung, you’ve been.. off today. Do you want to talk about it?” They were off in their own separate group now, strategically planned so ten girls wouldn’t be bombarding Sooyoung and pressuring her. Haseul was sitting in Vivi’s lap across from Sooyoung, Chaewon and Hyejoo on either side of Sooyoung. They all look worried about her, though none of them had gone to go talk to Jiwoo just yet.

 

Sooyoung wasn't the only one worried about Jiwoo, which worried Sooyoung. What she did seems to have upset her so much, Jiwoo was unable to keep her expression hidden from the rest. Soon they'd be asking her why, and then look towards Sooyoung in shock. The van ride home was unnerving, with chatter amongst the girls involving slight whispers that were just quiet enough to escape Sooyoung's ears. 

 

Dinner was worse, with the obvious escape from the table causing more looks to jet over Sooyoung's way. When asked what was wrong, Sooyoung could only shrug her shoulders, saying she tried to see where she went today, but couldn't find her. For now, Sooyoung would keep quiet on why, just in case. Though the longer they waited, the worse that guttural feeling grew inside of Sooyoung. This was all her fault, and it was eating her from the inside. 

 

"I--" Sooyoung was fighting the urge to tell them all what she had told Jiwoo, hoping that this time her story would make sense. Maybe it was an overreaction from Jiwoo, and Sooyoung was really in the clear? "I don't know why she's been so upset today. I'm really worried about her. But--" she turned to look Hyejoo in the eyes. "--I'll find out tonight. Just give her some space. She looks like she needs it."

 

Haseul shifts slightly and Kahei rubs her side to try and put the woman at ease. Kahei and Haseul were open about loving each other when it came to the group, and not so much when others were around. The two of them could really relax around one another and Haseul had also been the first one to help Kahei learn the bits of Korean that she hadn’t already. This could be what Jiwoo and Sooyoung could be like, and it was much like how they acted around each other already for their little conflict. But did they want it?

 

Hyejoo squeezed Sooyoung’s knee, looking much like a kicked puppy at the moment. Chaewon frowned and turned to Sooyoung. “Jiwoo’s never had a problem like this before. It’s concerning, something big must of happened if she was this upset.” Chaewon looked like she was about to say something else, but instead she closed her mouth and fell silent, looking down at her lap. The energy around them was feeling awkward and gloomy.

 

“I’ll put some food aside for her so she can eat in the morning, since she’s skipping dinner. If this goes on any longer, Jiwoo might be affected in performances. Even if she was fine today, it doesn’t seem like she will be later.” Haseul said nervously, looking up at Sooyoung. Kahei squeezed her girlfriend’s waist. “Jiwoo will be okay. She has Sooyoung and all of us too, and no one can reach out to her better than her. She’ll be in good hands.” Kahei gives Sooyoung a soft smile before jinsoul yells about getting food and whatnot.

 

A wretched sob claws out of Jiwoo’s throat, even if she’s trying to be as quiet as possible. Her mouth is muffled by her pillow and all she wants to do is scream despite her throat ending up sore and hurting the next morning.

 

Only nods of agreement came from Sooyoung as the two spoke to her. Sooyoung wanted to just get up from the living room and talk to Jiwoo. Just...get some sort of story from her that would explain what was going through her mind. As a group member, a leader, a friend - a friend she hoped was still true. The thought of being 'work' colleagues without having the same bond they once shared made Sooyoung incredibly saddened. "Yeah," Sooyoung tried to convince herself what Haseul was saying. "She has us. Always."


	4. IV

Eventually the girls prepare for bed, some head to the bathroom in twos for brushing teeth, second showers if wanted, their own rituals. For Sooyoung, it was slipping into yyxy's room silently, not wanting to cause Jiwoo to wake. Living with so many people, the feeling of claustrophobia can sometimes get to you, unable to escape. Sooyoung had that very feeling this morning, so she knew a bit of time could solve it, but Sooyoung wanted to just ask her how she was. Just that. Just to share a moment of kindness. Standing by her bed, Sooyoung pulled the sheets to allow enough room to slip in, looking towards the huddled body that was Jiwoo. "Good night, Jiwooming," Sooyoung whispered in the hopes Jiwoo was awake.

 

"Just say you're here for her," Sooyoung's mind shouted out. But all she could muster was another "night" before slipping into bed. Barely sleeping, and swearing she could hear slight gasps on the other side of the room from someone weeping.

 

There was no response to her soft coo, which was either a sign that she was asleep or that she was just pretending to be. Currently, Jiwoo was knocked out completely with exhaustion from the entire day and had cried herself to sleep. It hurt to think about it, about Sooyoung and what she felt towards her and what the woman felt towards Jiwoo. Those thoughts could wait until later, she would have enough time to think about it tomorrow. Right now she needed her rest, and she was definitely going to take up all that she could.

 

Unfortunately for Jiwoo, her sleep was interrupted by her body deciding to wake up in the middle of the night despite Jiwoo’s head protesting. It didn’t matter now. She was wide awake. Her eyes were bloodshot and it was hard to breath, and at this point she knew that she wasn’t going to be able to fall asleep. Crawling out of bed with the stealth of a cat was easy enough, and she spares a longing look at Sooyoung before leaving the room and gently closing the door behind her to escape into the living room. 

 

Jiwoo relaxed slightly at the sight of the darkness, the quiet throughout the entire place. She sits down on their large couches, staring blankly up at the ceiling. She was still in her own rehearsal clothes and probably should have changed out before leaving, but she just couldn’t seem to. She knew that there were streaks of tears on her cheeks and she looked like a mess, but Jiwoo couldn’t help it. Jiwoo reached over to the remote control instead, turning on the TV in hopes it would calm her down. 

 

She squinted at her bright thing, knowing her eyes couldn’t adjust to the brightness quick enough. She tries to make out what’s on TV with subtitles, with her small form shivering in the cold of the night. It’s better than being cramped up in that room.

 

The tossing and turning was plenty enough to keep Sooyoung from a restful sleep. This wasn't the first time she had sleeping issues. Ever since the injury on her nose, Sooyoung had anxiety that the I hurt would've ruined her career. Who wants a damaged KPop star? No one.

 

But for Sooyoung, it was unfinished business that kept her from slumber. Seeing the cheerful Jiwoo in any way but just that gave such concern to her in a personal way that no matter what Jiwoo was going through, Sooyoung wanted to be the shoulder for her to lean on. They had gathered such respect for each other, and in the span of under 24 hours, she feared it had all crumbled. Turning from the side facing the wall to the other, Sooyoung opened up her eyes only slightly in the hopes of catching the restful face of Jiwoo.

 

There was no face to be seen, nor body. She was gone. A terrible fright built up from within. Did she leave leave? Sooyoung's head lifted from her scrunched pillow and she scanned Jiwoo's belongings. The bags she had were still there, nothing had stirred. Perhaps she was in the toilet, Sooyoung thought.

 

Slowly lifting herself up, Sooyoung slipped out her legs and put on her burgundy Swan slippers, then slowly getting out of bed and gently opening the door to head to the bathroom. A familiar blue hue from the living room indicated that the TV was on. The tiptoe of Sooyoung towards the TV, spotting a squinting Jiwoo in the same clothes Sooyoung spooked her in outside the practice hall. Leaning by the pillar, a pyjama-donned Sooyoung smiled. "Hey penguin," a soft spoken Sooyoung said.

 

There were several cases of Kpop stars performing with injuries, like when one of Red Velvet’s members had a bit of a bruise along the eye, but it was understandable that Sooyoung would be so afraid of something like that. But Jiwoo was there and she had been the one to comfort her, and to tell her it wasn’t her fault.

 

Jiwoo’s respect for Sooyoung wasn’t gone, just temporarily forgotten. If her heart, the love that blossomed in her chest over time had took hold of her it would tell her to march up to Sooyoung and kiss her, but all of her other emotions were far too strong. Jiwoo knew that letting them get out of control could only be harmful and yet all she could do was keep them to herself. Jiwoo was just afraid of what would happen, too scared of taking another step to realize what her future could be. All of these anxieties reminded her daily and she could hardly take much more of it.

 

When she heard Sooyoung’s soft but raspy voice, she visibly jolted on the couch from surprise. She hadn’t been expecting anyone to come out and she was afraid that she had woken Sooyoung up. Of course, deep down Jiwoo knew that it was definitely not how loud she was when she was walking out that had awoken her fellow member even if she hadn’t been sleeping in the first place.

 

“Sorry if I woke you up, Sooyoung.” Her voice is low and hoarse, most likely from the crying from earlier. She sounds tired but sets the remote down, feeling far more interested in the TV. Her deep brown eyes are aching now but no tears fall and she quickly covered her face for a moment with her knees and her arms. “I’ll turn it off so you can go back to sleep.” Jiwoo is trying to deny that they have to talk. She doesn’t feel ready for it, as it’ll be one hell of a storm for the poor girl. And.. she could only imagine how lowly Sooyoung imagined Jiwoo. A pitiful look on her face for the absolute bullshit she made her put up with.

 

It was a slow approach, but Sooyoung walked towards where Jiwoo sat on the couch, and in a haze of restlessness from lack of sleep and emotional exhaustion from the day, sat next to Jiwoo and rested her head on Jiwoo's shoulder. Right now, all Sooyoung wanted was the similar connection the two had - whether it was their cooking or training, or just watching bad TV together.

 

The screen flickered between an awful rerun of the period TV show about King Sejong and ads for products no sane person would be comfortable seeing in the daytime. An elongated breath in and out tried to soothe Jiwoo as much as Sooyoung was just happy to be this close to her Jiwooming. "Can't sleep either."

 

Hopefully Jiwoo wouldn't budge now that Sooyoung was literally on her. She hoped to keep Jiwoo long enough to speak to her. Jiwoo's voice sounded horrible for someone with the most chirpy, lyrical voice. Sooyoung planned in her head to console her as much as she could.

 

As Sooyoung’s head had rested against Jiwoo’s shoulder, the girl beside her tensed and stayed frozen. It was nothing like how they were so casual with each other, even sometimes straddling one another and giving sweet kisses to cheeks and other parts of the upper torso. So something like this shouldn’t be much, but if the normally cuddly Jiwoo couldn’t handle it then there was certainly something up.

 

Jiwoo doesn’t realize that she’s holding her breath and can’t even watch the show either when Sooyoung is so close. She smells nice, and it reminds Jiwoo of what she had been feeling towards Sooyoung that got her so worked up in the first place. She knew that what Sooyoung had said wasn’t a lie, that she had actually been unable to fall asleep, but Jiwoo didn’t understand how thier normally sleepy unnie couldn’t rest. Was it her fault again? What was she putting Sooyoung through when Jiwoo dragged herself through whatever cage she had built for herself?

 

Eyes closing, she blocks out the light of the TV. And she thinks, completely silent, and the only thing she can hear being Sooyoung’s soft breathing. “I’m sorry, Sooyoung.” She whispered quietly. “I’m a liar. I- I just wish you could trust me more. And I know you were worried earlier and I didn’t want to make you seem so scared. But then.. I couldn’t bring myself to hold onto you tighter, or do all of these things that we always do. You’ve incorporated yourself into my life and I don’t know what to do. I don’t hate it. I love that you’re always around me. You make me so happy. But I don’t know if I do for you anymore.”

 

There was a tension in the shoulders Sooyoung knew to be the kind that you cannot avoid even if you tried. Jiwoo was wound up with something, and no more silence was going to help it. Before Sooyoung could speak, Jiwoo breaks the silence with an apology. This threw Sooyoung off. All this time, she had thought what she told Jiwoo about the hand holding incident was what set her off. If it wasn't that, what was it? 

 

As Jiwoo explained her point of view, Sooyoung's frow burrowed. It wasn't making sense. "A liar?" Sooyoung spoke, though not loud enough to interrupt Jiwoo as she continued. "What were you lying about? Of course I trust you."

 

Sooyoung was getting upset that Jiwoo didn't think she trusted her. Some of Sooyoung's biggest secrets she ever revealed was with Jiwoo with the trust Jiwoo wouldn't repeat them. "You are perfectly fine. Wonderful, even. You are the only one here who makes me feel safe enough to b--to be myself."

 

It was true that being a part of Loona also meant playing more into certain characteristics when in public - not as much as other groups, but still it was a part of it. Sooyoung lifted her head and shifted her body to face Jiwoo - placing a hand on Jiwoo's knee, always wanting to keep some sort of contact. This was the only thing Sooyoung thought would maintain that trust. "You make me happier than any friend I've ever had, Jiwooming. Honest."

 

For a moment, Jiwoo is quiet and all she manages to do is stare at Sooyoung with that look. Raw, needing, like there’s something there that’s so indescribably powerful that it’s beginning to overwhelm Jiwoo just from these thoughts alone. Her gaze is broken and she fixes it on the TV again, trying to compose herself. Did Sooyoung understand how it felt when it came to being in Jiwoo’s shoes, and the way everyone viewed her?

 

Jiwoo relaxed slightly when Sooyoung squeezed her knee. It wasn’t much, but a touch that she yearned for and missed far more than she could remember. She takes in a deep breath before continuing. 

 

“Loona.. it’s never really truly felt like my home, my family. We’ve all been so close but sometimes I feel like I haven’t joined in completely even if I just talk a lot to them. Sometimes I wonder how quick they’ll be to let go of me one day.” The nightmare of an idol, the one that had been haunting Jiwoo for as long as she’s been in the group. She was terrified of everything.

 

“Sooyoungie, do you know what fans think of us?” She whispered softly. “What they think of the band’s relationships? 2Jin? Viseul?” Jiwoo’s hands begin to tremble, though it’s hard to tell where she’s going with this. “The last thing I’d ever want to do is see you hurt. I don’t know if I can face it, to not be able to smile and laugh with you during the day and give you all the attention I want. But Sooyoung, we’ll fall. We all will crumble one day and I don’t want to see it, I don’t want the people that I love so much to face that..”

 

Jiwoo turned to Sooyoung, brows pressed together. “Why can’t I just be me? I don’t think I have any bad intentions, I just want to love you all and feel good. I.. I want to protect you with everything I have, but I’ve grown so comfortable with you. Is this okay?”

 

"Of course the fans are going to think all sorts of things," Sooyoung began, not quite taking her hand off of Jiwoo's knee, but just kneading it with her thumb. "True and false."

 

There isn't much time from when she turned her head to look for Jiwoo's face that she continued. "But we are a new family. All of us are new to this. And I--" 

 

Sooyoung's gaze switched from the TV and back to Jiwoo. "I've been feeling the same. For a while. Until we hung out," Sooyoung brought a smile to her face realizing this.

 

"We have all come together with the belief that we can make something really beautiful. A group like us, we can really make change. You've seen that already though, right?"

 

The leader in Sooyoung was beginning to come out now. What made her feel confident, and in turn, gave others support, was being the one giving comforting advice. At this point though, Sooyoung needed to hear it just as much as Jiwoo. "And what I think...I feel...is that we need to stick together."

 

Sooyoung's eyes had not left the sight of Jiwoo's. "If we crumble, Jiwoo, we crumble together."

 

Jiwoo’s heart sunk. It wasn’t too much, but she knew. She could feel it. Her eyes take away from Sooyoung’s and she stares blankly at the TV in front of them. The tears in her eyes glisten, but they don’t fall.

 

Sooyoung had said something wrong or said nothing for Jiwoo to calm down, because now the girl only felt the aching in her heart appearing again. She didn’t know what it was and it was becoming especially difficult for her to even breath. Jiwoo pursed her lips and sat up this time, a distant look in her eyes from what little Sooyoung could see of her.

 

“I think.. I’m going to go to sleep now. I’m tired.” Her voice is dry and shaky, exactly what it would sound like before tears begin to spill again. She doesn’t look at Sooyoung again before dashing off into their room silently.

 

Sooyoung was okay. She had the others to depend on. But Jiwoo? She wanted.. more. Not just the group, but from Sooyoung. She wanted the woman to see just how much Jiwoo loved her and cared for her, how she would put everything on the line for her. But Sooyoung didn’t see it, and she didn’t quite understand how Jiwoo felt. That was clear when she had spoken to her, anyways.

 

Jiwoo throws the blanket over her, head first into her pillow so her sobs are just a little quieter. Her tears soak her bed.

 

A cold, silent moment cut through the room as Sooyoung stayed in her spot, watching Jiwoo pull away from her. "Okay," Sooyoung's already tired voice squeaked out in defeat. Her own eyes welling up with the first droplets of tears. She couldn't help but let a slight sniffle in, arguing with the many loud thoughts her mind was shouting for her to do.

 

The stillness of Sooyoung felt paralytic. Sooyoung couldn't figure out why Jiwoo reacted in such a way. What Jiwoo was going through wasn't going to be properly discovered through late-night sleepless TV viewing, that was for certain. It took a long stretch of silent contemplation before Sooyoung could muster the strength to turn off the television. With the sudden flicker to blackness, the room felt even colder.

 

Pushing herself to her feet, Sooyoung held her elbows as she shuffled slowly back into the bedroom - carefully opening the door and turning the knob gently enough to not make a single creak. Taking her time to crawl back into her bed, the teardrops could now fall on the pillow she lay her head on. Again, it felt as if she wasn't the only crying one in the room, which caused a stronger ache in her stomach. Sooyoung had to fix this. She needed her Jiwooming back, or she'd have nothing else.

 

The morning crept up faster than expected, with Sooyoung rising earlier than anyone else in the house. This was unheard of, but stranger still was how Sooyoung felt: Determined. Distraught and upset, yes, but also a determination to set things right. Sliding back out of her bed with the same care, Sooyoung slipped her slippers back on and with a very considered pull of the drawers, Sooyoung grabbed the first set of clothes from her cupboard. Leaving the room to a quiet bedroom, the occupants would eventually hear the click of the front door - if they were awake.

 

Jiwoo had hardly slept, and her body felt drained and exhausted. She doubted that she could even lift a finger up when she was like this, as gravity was doing everything it could to keep her down. Today was also yet another practice day, for their next comeback anyways. She couldn’t even find the energy to dance today, nonetheless get out of bed.

 

But that morning she wasn’t awakened by the front door, but instead by a concerned Hyejoo and Chaewon who was actually awake. It seemed that they couldn’t sleep well either, and were rather concerned over the more fucked up than normal looking bedheaded Jiwoo. So when she woke up, the two of them were sitting on either side of the bed and determined to slide some answers out of the girl before it was too late.

 

“Jiwoo, wake up.” She hears Chaewon whisper to her, only making Jiwoo grumble and turn her head away. Chaewon laughed softly And Hyejoo reached over to tickle the side of Jiwoo’s neck, which definitely got her awake. Jiwoo looked at them and groaned, turning back to her bed. “Hey now, penguin, we just want to talk to you. We want to help.”  
Her lips form a tight line and she doesn’t dare look at them. “What could you help with? There’s nothing left anymore. Sooyoung— She..” she frowned, her eyes straining from looking at the two. “I heard. Last night, when you were with Sooyoung in the living room.” Hyejoo confessed.

 

Jiwoo stares at her, slightly in disbelief for several reasons. “We know that it hurts,” Chaewon continues, “but you’ll hurt yourself even more if you stay like this. You need to talk to her and tell her what you really mean, since Unnie is probably can be rather.. daft. Please, Jiwoo.” Chaewon takes Jiwoo’s hand and squeezes it, and with the sad puppy eyed look from Hyejoo, it’s hard to say anything. Jiwoo sighed and closed her eyes. “It’s harder than you think, Wonnie. I.. I don’t know how to talk to her. But I guess I can try just a little bit.”

 

The girls smile and get off the bed, taking each other’s hands. They look happy. “Thank you, Jiwoo. We care for you too.. please don’t forget that.” Hyejoo and Chaewon walk out of the room, leaving Jiwoo alone to get ready.

 

The chill of the early morning air was so brisk that her very bones felt brittle with the slightest of winds. No matter, for this would be the only way for Sooyoung to prove to Jiwoo she meant a lot more to Sooyoung than she was knew - that, or Sooyoung still had a lot to learn. Not that Sooyoung was an expert on showing these kinds of emotions, especially in such a unique scenario of a dozen women under one roof. 

 

As her feet turned down the main road to a side alley, Sooyoung was deciding what she might be able to say to be more open to Jiwoo. Perhaps full honesty, and that meant all of it, would show Jiwoo what she felt. But if she did that, and it backfired, perhaps things would never be the same. 

 

For months Sooyoung was terrified of losing any friendships she gained in the group, but something about Jiwoo felt like losing her was losing more than a friend. A true friend. A deep friend. One she couldn't imagine life without, in a sense.  
Down a narrower alleyway, the small 'OPEN' light on the window was an assurance that her plan might just work. Walking into the smells and warmth from cooked breads, Sooyoung rubbed her   
"Bonjour! Annyeong!" the cheerful baker's assistant chirped behind the counter of the crisp white counter.  
"It's early, but I need something specific."  
The assistant looked around the shelves behind her, all shapes and sizes of bread, pastries and the like. "You've got quite a range of things to choose from, all fresh from this morning. The baker is very particu--"  
Sooyoung cut the woman's sentence off with a point of her finger in the glass cabinet.   
"I need--" Sooyoung plainly said. "A lot of those."

 

Two large white paper bags tugged down on Sooyoung's arms as she strolled down the empty streets, as well as two long baguettes wrapped in paper under her arm - Sooyoung's head held a little higher. The walk back was faster, with even more of a stride than before, relieved to have what she needed. The familiarity of these streets was humbling, as this home was still the first time Sooyoung felt like an adult living far away from home. This place meant a whole more to her than ever before.

 

After having to practically be dragged out of bed, Jungeun and Jinsoul had teamed up to go force Jiwoo to shower otherwise they’d have to deal with a grumpy and sleep-smelling Jiwoo throughout the entire day. It wasn’t that bad, but Jiwoo did actually have to care for her hygiene. Jiwoo rolled her eyes at them but had went to go shower anyway, despite her obviously grumpy attitude.

 

Jiwoo hadn’t spoken much that morning, but she also hadn’t seen Sooyoung yet. She wondered where she could be, why she left. Questions popped up in her head and she felt like suffocating, but at the same time she couldn’t help but worry about her friend. Right. She cared for Sooyoung, but it still made her heart ache.

 

She slumped down on the couch, her eyes closed while the others chatted idly while deciding what to get for breakfast. A few of the members would occasionally glance over at Jiwoo with a concerned look on their faces, but right now she couldn’t really care less. All that was on her mind was sooyoung. Where could she be? How did she feel about Jiwoo? She knew that it wasn’t particularly nice that Jiwoo had walked away but.. thinking about finding jade her want to throw up. She knew that Sooyoung didn’t like her.

 

It was a fantasy for Jiwoo, nothing more nothing less. It was a painful one too, when it could have happened had she not let go of the opportunity.

 

The key code to the front door was hard to push with a bag full of treats weighing her arm down, but it didn't stop Sooyoung from mastering the combination. The front door lock clicks open, and with a heavy hand Sooyoung makes her entrance, hearing the chatter of a baker's dozen. As she clip-clopped down the hallway, the gasps and screeches of excitement filled the rooms. L

 

They all recognized the Publique logo - a renowned French bakery made famous for its exquisite fruit tarts. "Energy, ladies. We need plenty of it if we're going to nail today's practice," Sooyoung plonked both bags on the kitchen counter, then slid the two long baguettes on top. Before the hungry vulturettes could get their talented talons on the sweet tarts and chocolate croissants in their hands, Sooyoung pulled a blue box with a delicate ribbon tied on top out. Her move to the side was unnoticed, and she slinked away to find the one person she wanted to see all morning.

 

Reaching a hand out towards Jiwoo, a weary, bag-eyed Sooyoung gestured for Jiwoo to stand. "I have to talk to you," she curtly said, the box hiding behind her back. Sooyoung indicated for the two to move into the bedroom.


	5. V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> u-uwu  
> they don't have big smoochies for a while after this, but when it comes around, its some good shit :DDD

When she heard Sooyoung’s voice echo throughout the condo, she immediately moved to get up and run away. But Sooyoung, when she sees her, her heart stops even when she knows that Sooyoung doesn’t feel the same way. Jiwoo can’t help the way she feels like falling again, because Sooyoung looks so beautiful no matter how often she sees her. It makes her heart tremble in her own chest.

 

Jiwoo gave her a light nod and turns to go into the bedroom, not having to speak a word to her. Jiwoo’s voice was hoarse and it sounded terrible and she definitely needed to drink water, but she just couldn’t bear looking at Sooyoung again. In a room alone with her, the idea used to make her heart flutter, but all It did was sink and roll Around uselessly within her chest. It made her feel terrible, and she would instead walk inside and close the door behind them only to sit on the floor in front of her bed. She looks at Sooyoung. Jiwoo notes that she looks tired.

 

”What did you want to talk about?” She asked softly. She acts like she doesn’t remember last night. She wants to forget it all, drown herself in her own misery until nothing revolves around her anymore. Clearly, Jiwoo isn’t in the best state of mind at the moment.

 

Still embedded in Jiwoo's voice was the same dissatisfaction than before, and Sooyoung knew it wouldn't get any better before something happened. 24 hours ago the two were light-heartedly sharing waffles and vanilla lattes, and now there had been an awful rift stuck between the two.

 

Sooyoung was ignoring what this would do for the group now - yesterday riddled her with those doubts, and she knew the ten women out there feasting on treats had her heart like Jiwoo had. "You and I...I--" Sooyoung was rough to start speaking, but as she went on, her focus strengthened. "There is something about us that I just can't shake. You have this way of making me feel better. Every day, you do. You make me feel safe here. Like I belong. And--"

 

The pieces of what she wanted to say were coming out, but Sooyoung wasn't sure they were coming out in the right order. "--yesterday I had this feeling when you left that it could have been the last time I'd see you. And it hurt me. So bad. It's not your fault, but it frightened me. I can't just...I--"

 

Already Sooyoung's vision wavered, her quicker blinks trying to wipe away the forming of tears, but not quite leaving the sides of her eyes just yet. In a desperate attempt to show Jiwoo how she was feeling, Sooyoung wrapped her free arm around Jiwoo, almost falling into her. To keep stability, the other arm swung around with a rustle of objects in the box Sooyoung was trying to conceal. Sniffing quietly, Sooyoung turned her head to let her mouth hover near Jiwoo's ear. "Please," her voice was soft, whispered. "I can't lose you. Not now."

 

In the heat of the moment, Sooyoung stole a kiss on the cheek of Jiwoo. The emotions were riding high, and having never properly dealt with what she was experiencing with Jiwoo - in that this was the first time she felt anything more than friendship with someone - there was not much method to the expressions she gave.

 

Jiwoo knew that Sooyoung was feeling just as terrible as she had been the entire time, but Sooyoung looked like- well, shit. So did Jiwoo, but god, she already missed the sweet fluttery pounding of her heart. Sooyoung made her feel different, good or bad, but she assumed that it was good. And it was different from anyone else. She wanted it, even if she couldn’t do anything about it.

 

Jiwoo listens to Sooyoung carefully, just to make sure she's hearing her correctly. Each little word makes hope fills her chest, and she can hardly breath. It sounds so much like what she wants to hear, what makes her happy, what makes her cheeks flush and she can hardly stand it. She’s so happy. She feels so amazing. But.. did Sooyoung really mean it? Of course she did— she has to, otherwise Jiwoo pretty much feels like she’s going to die. It will hurt so much more.

 

The arms wrapped around her, and she squeezed Sooyoung tightly. This was the perfect moment to say it. Now or never, and she can’t let go of Sooyoung. Her head buried against her neck, and she can hardly breath. The tears are hot in her eyes, and she lets out a soft whimper against her.

 

Jiwoo’s hands clench in Sooyoung’s shirt, balling up into fists. “Soo—Sooyoung.” She breathed, her heart throbbing. It hurts so much, she couldn’t possibly keep quiet about this any longer. She’s sobbing now, which is the first time she’s ever let herself go. No member had ever seen Jiwoo cry, and at most it was only eye watering. Jiwoo is crying so harshly, her makeup is even bound to be so messed up afterwards. But she doesn’t care anymore. “Sooyoung, I love you. I love you so much. Not- not just as a friend. I need you.. I want to stay by your side.”

 

That Jiwoo was able to verbally say the words Sooyoung so desperately wanted to say, but wasn't brave enough to speak, was equal measures relieving and ecstatic. Never had Sooyoung been told by someone so close to hwe that they loved her. For years she dreamed of finding someone kind, sweet and nurturing enough to share such a moment, but what luck that it also turned out to be someone like Jiwoo. With a vitality for life, and joy and spirit unmatched by anyone she knew, Sooyoung ached for a love like this. Admission was the first step towards something new, and wonderful, and intimate. 

"You. I love you," her voice felt like it had to accentuate the 'you' part, just to highlight the fact Sooyoung struggled for so long to say those words to Jiwoo. "Stay, yes."

In a soft thud, two foreheads pressed together, leaving only the sobbing eyes to blurrily see the other, and two pairs of lips were only an inch away. The two had been close before, playfully so, but after being told they were both in love, was this the time to finally connect? The lean from Sooyoung was slow, only due to the fear Jiwoo might change her mind, but it wasn't enough to deter her.  
The bottom lip was the first to make contact, an instant flush of heat that was emanating from Jiwoo now directly on Sooyoung. As the top lip connected, and a kiss had finally happened, a booming knock on the bedroom door jolted Sooyoungs's head back. "Sae-kki!" a startled Sooyoung shouted back. Such profanity only came from Sooyoung when she was truly startled. Jinsoul, in a very chirpy way, sing:" Our ride's here," she giggled afterwards.

 

"No," Sooyoung whispered to Jiwoo, their faces now back to where they were when they first spoke. "Wait, before we go..." Sooyoung's unravelled arms now extended with a small, rectangular box held in two hands. With a small head bow, Sooyoung politely offered a gift to Jiwoo. "For you."

 

Handing the box over to Jiwoo, Sooyoung used the sleeve of her long shirt to dab her eyes. By now, Sooyoung would look the part of a tired mess, but she was happy to dodge the questions and worries her team would throw her way. She just found love. "I'll see you out there, penguin," she chuckled - the first genuine laugh she could give happily - before turning around to open the bedroom door, and leave Jiwoo with an assorted box of freshly baked macaroons.

 

The desperation in Jiwoo’s voice was real. It showed to prove how much she depended on Sooyoung, and right now it was showing how much she loved her. Yesterday had been torture for Jiwoo and it wasn’t even 24 hours, yet she was blessed with the gift of feeling so happy. Her gift was Sooyoung, her reward, her joy and happiness depended on this woman here. It took long for Jiwoo to realize her feelings. Jiwoo never had fallen in love before, trusting that she had a soulmate out there where she would just know that they were hers and she was theirs. Sooyoung had caught Jiwoo’s heart.

 

‘I love you’ is far stronger than any other phrase. She’s heard it so many times before, but from Sooyoung, it was different. She loves her. She really loves her.

 

Jiwoo is practically melting into Sooyoung’s arms even when her makeup is messed up, and it’ll definitely mean that she’ll have to redo it while they’re in the car. But Jiwoo doesn’t care because Sooyoung was there for her, her new lover, her best friend and everything she could possibly love. Sooyoung was so special to Jiwoo and she was leaning in closer and closer, making Jiwoo feel safer. She was home now.

 

She jumped when she hears the knock, and then Sooyoung’s swear. Jiwoo laughed, though she kept on giggling and holding onto Sooyoung’s chest. Her face was still near hers, and just a few inches keep could truly seal the deal. Jiwoo’s heart couldn’t take the idea of just kissing Sooyoung again but she definitely didn’t mind it.

 

“Mm?” She looks down at the box and then at Sooyoung, who’s beginning to leave the room. She’s about to protest until she sees what’s inside the box, and a smile spreads on her face. “Sooyoungie..” She whispered affectionately before tucking it into her bag and heading out. She could definitely share these with her later, and just for them too. Jiwoo smiled the widest she’s hardly ever done before, and she quickly wiped her face clean before skipping outside.

 

The various conversations that were in earshot of Sooyoung in the van all seemed to be related to the strangeness of the last day or so. Maybe it was the weather, Yeojin suggested. "Wasn't wearing my bunny ears," Vivi confidently said. Jungeun brought up all the sweets they'd been shoveling into their faces, and was met with nothing but scoffs in the van. "How dare you blame deliciousness on that?" Heejin sneered. 

Hyejoo and Chaewon sat quietly, though they were certainly hushed in whispering to each other. Also sitting quietly on the two-seater side, one with a particularly smug smile on her face, was Sooyoung. Nothing could ruin the buzz. The adrenaline pumping in her veins. Already she had asked for some of Jiwoo's concealer to cover the discoloration under her eyes.

 

Perhaps the group's suspicions were already discussed, but right now the team were off to rehearse once again. Every single action one would do, the other seemed overly excited about. There was more giggling, fiddling and playfulness than the two had exerted before. To see two particularly grumpy people now over the top would seem relieving or concerning, but no real questions were asked other than "how are you feeling today?" from a handful of the girls.

 

Jiwoo had taken Sooyoung and her’s usual seat by the window, the spaced out one that gave them enough room to stretch and play around. Jiwoo wasn’t even wearing her seat belt properly, as Jiwoo was sitting in the window while Sooyoung was on the aisle seat. Jiwoo’s legs were thrown over Sooyoung’s lap and she was kind of sort of sitting on her while clinging onto her arm pressed against her chest. She looked ecstatic.

 

Jiwoo was wearing a loose shirt and jean shorts that day, and with the sun coming in from her side, she looked like an actual angel. Light around her and all, she was so happy to be around Sooyoung that even her laughs and smiles were becoming contagious. On her own lap was also the box of macaroons that she had insisted that only Sooyoung and her would eat. Which was cute, but also kind of possessive.

 

But nothing was going to drag down Jiwoo’s mood, especially not after what happened this morning. “Sooyoungie..” she cooed d happily, her hands gliding over the woman’s arm. Chaewon glanced over at the girls in front of them, who seemed to be enjoying themselves. Near the back where Sooyoung could see, Jungeun was laughing at Jinsoul and passing around money with a slightly disappointed Haseul shaking her head. Kahei had just squeezed her lover's forearm, sometimes looking over affectionately at the two lovers.

 

Luckily there was enough protection from the way Sooyoung was sitting to keep most of the longer-than-usual touching and finger grazing on skin from others. A lot of their play could be considered normal for the two, but there was a vivacious fire in their hearts that was suddenly wanting to test the waters more - for every touch of skin and glance at the eyes sent a different message now.

 

For all the times an internal battle to subdue the more raw emotions of craving passion, now they weren't shamed from within. The legs draped over Sooyoung were no longer just incredibly shaped and toned, but now we're potential legs for Sooyoung to hold close while they held each other, or legs that could be scooped if Sooyoung was feeling daring enough to carry her penguin.

 

Every now and then, Sooyoung would look around to see the rest of the team, give a gentle smile, and look back. For some reason, Sooyoung wasn't worried about how she looked. It could be the exhaustion settling in, it the fact Jiwoo said those three words, but the day would be memorable no matter what. "Jiwooming," a coy reply came back from Sooyoung, with two fingers walking up to Jiwoo's knee from her ankle.

 

Jiwoo was absolutely ecstatic. She couldn’t help it of course, as this was Sooyoung they were talking about. Her attention was focused on Sooyoung and her alone, and it made her so happy to know that her girl felt the same way about her. Those thoughts of Sooyoung leaving her, the group being forgotten, everything possibly negative had completely disappeared. She didn’t care anymore because when Sooyoung stared at her in such a way, like that, she knew it wouldn’t happen. She- no, they would be okay.

 

She was entirely sunshine and rainbows and she couldn’t be happier, even if they were surrounded by ten other girls. Jiwoo pressed little kisses to Sooyoung’s cheek or her neck when she was sure no one else was looking (they were all paying at least a little attention to the girls, a little worried that they committed a crime but also glad that they were back to normal.)

 

Everything was so much more now, and exactly what Jiwoo craved for. She picked up a macaron from the box and held it up to Sooyoung, looking on excitedly. They were some seriously good deserts, and some of them were even strawberry flavored. This was everything she could have possibly asked for. Jiwoo was truly serious about being with Sooyoung and she hoped the girl was too, as the love and positivity oozing from Jiwoo was quite a lot.

 

"No no," Sooyoung placed her hand in front of the macaron. "You first," she sweetly spoke, as if it was important at Jiwoo, the receiver of the gift, went first. Jiwoo needed not share, but the macarons would taste a whole better when shared with someone else. "Or better yet," her mischievous face slowly formed, and with a lean forward took a snap bite of the rose-tinted biscuit - shrinking its size to half.

 

Every single peck on her cheek sent incredible waves of tingles down Sooyoung's spine. They felt different. The meaning behind them was more sure. The two previously couldn't help to help each other out with everyday tasks. Now it seemed they couldn't keep their hands off of each other enough. Getting out of the van would take away their huddled haven, but what potential moments the two could scoop up in the future was so enticing to dream of.

 

The guard at the main gate of the building BBC shared space with peered in with his usual curious expression. Without fail Sooyoung lifted her hands to give a little finger wave - the tips pointing towards him as they wiggled - and laughed. "He has no idea who's waving at him," Sooyoung continued to wave. The van drove through the gates, and down the ramp to the basement parking. Sooyoung felt a tiny bit of dread, knowing that rehearsals were ahead of them - though strangely was more excited to put more effort into this day. So much more.

 

Jiwoo gives her an adorable pout to show her displeasure of Sooyoung not accepting the macarons. But seeing Sooyoung’s consideration made her melt just a little bit, even more so when the woman came teasingly close just to take a bite out of half. Jiwoo huffed and leaned forward to finish the other half, but not before smooching the fingers that gave it to her and then finally swallowing it all. She looked pleased.

 

It wasn’t just keeping their hands off of one another, Jiwoo just couldn’t not be around Sooyoung and be happy. She picks up two more macarons before closing it, deciding to hold onto them so they could snack on them while heading over to the practice room. They were still kind of her breakfast after all, and she’d probably have to beg Jungeun to allow her to eat what leftover pastries they got. No matter, she was too happy and loaded with gay to care.

 

She glanced over at who Sooyoung was waving at and smiled, also waving to the man. He could see three hands now, which was definitely proving that there were at least two members who acknowledged his presence. She closed her bag and watched as the others begin to file out, and Jiwoo would take Sooyoung’s hand and squeeze it tightly before guiding her to the exit as well. Holding hands. Such a small activity that they had lacked in doing yesterday, but now doing it without worry today. Jiwoo took a leap out of the van, and turned to face Sooyoung and holding out her arms for a hug.

 

Nothing in Sooyoung's whole existence had prepared her for the incredibly uplifting feeling that would come from a recent love proposal. Never had a hug by someone felt so overwhelmingly love-filled. Sooyoung squeezed back in the embrace harder than she ever had before, smelling an incredible waft of peach - perfume or shampoo, it was wonderful. 

 

Even now, with hands clasped as they walked, Sooyoung felt the entwining of fingers to be the biggest expression of love - when only days before, it was a symbol of friendship. The arm holding the hand couldn't contain itself, swinging forwards and backwards as the two walked from the van towards the lobby. Nothing would ruin this feeling.

 

The hands did not separate as they stepped onto the escalator - nor did the eyes turn to look towards the young woman at the desk who caused the whole upset in the first place. Sooyoung hadn't given it much thought, but perhaps she had this stranger to thank. Without her confusion at the couple's handholding, Jiwoo would have never been upset, which wouldn't have forced Sooyoung to act to try to keep Jiwoo.

 

As the moving stairs ascended, Sooyoung turned her head and looked through the window to see if the woman was there. Facing the window, sitting on her chair, a red-lipped woman in a business outfit was gleefully holding her arms above her head to form a love heart. Sooyoung squeezed Jiwoo's hand in the hopes she'd notice the person by the window, and raised her free hand to slightly wave at the stranger.

 

The hug felt so fulfilling, and it was far better than any she had experienced. Her giddiness wouldn’t last forever, but damn she was practically getting high off of it. Jiwoo kept letting out small squeals of laughter here and there, delighted to have returned to Sooyoung’s side. She hugged her tight before eventually having to go with the manager calling for them, merrily skipping along while holding Sooyoung’s hand.

 

Even those who really weren’t morning people had smiles on their faces when they saw the happy girls together, more than how they usually did. The group seemed to be more relaxed as well, with their members back to normal, everything seemed to be under control. Yerim, the living sunshine, couldn’t even match up with how bright Jiwoo was shining at that moment.

 

When she feels Sooyoung squeeze her hand, she looks over to notice the woman. A smile spreads on her face, but instead of making a silly gesture back, she makes sure the stranger is watching when she leans over to press a quick but adoring smooch to Sooyoung’s cheek and looking on mischievously afterwards. This woman deserved to see what she had created for Sooyoung and Jiwoo, and she was more than happy to welcome it.

 

Jiwoo hums happily now, stars shining in her eyes and bouncing in place even though she had hardly rested at all. It just felt so much better, she was so much more pleased with herself and the people around her. It had been her own fault that she hadn’t said anything to Sooyoung and made her worry, but now everything was okay and she had a wonderful girlfriend to cherish for the rest of her days. Or, she hoped she would anyways. Jiwoo was truly happy.

 

The smooch in the escalator was the defining moment for the two of them. With the fan by the window seeing the results in a positive light, maybe the two could slowly look towards this being more official in the future. Because relationships always seemed a hot topic to pop stars, one never knew what the reaction by the manager or agency would have on it.

 

Of course, most of the time those decisions aren't made to benefit the two who are in love, but rather to protect image and profit. Loona, however, worked on a different premise. Just looking at the conversations online, the ChuuVes movement alone showed a massive support. Stan Loona was an internet meme, a message at rallies...it was making a difference. What magic had come simply from love itself?

 

As the group gathered by the training hall doors, Sooyoung stuck to Jiwoo. The manager had given some inspiring words to gather the troops for another big day of training, to prepare for their second comeback - "bigger than ever!" they would hear on repeat. "Bring it on," Sooyoung's voice from the back of the group resonated. A handful of hoots and cheers followed, with a new-found burst of energy for the team. Even the other members seemed more cheerful to Sooyoung. Perhaps the energy from the two of them was inspiring.

 

Their usual practice space awaited them, the BBC branding in the background. Whatever comes from this, Sooyoung thought, she'd be in it for the long haul.

 

She can hardly believe that she actually worked herself up enough to kiss Sooyoung in front of people, even though they were mostly insignificant and Jiwoo had only kissed her cheek. But still! It was a lot for the new couple, but the welcoming of Sooyoung’s, she couldn’t help but feel so bubbly afterwards. Her arm tangles with her and she holds onto Sooyoung as tightly as she wants to, a stupid grin on her face. 

 

It made Jiwoo a little nervous to know that they were making their second comeback already. LoonaTV accurately documented and communicated most of the band members’ lives, though she couldn’t help but wonder if fans would notice how close Jiwoo and Sooyoung were. There was the incident of where Haseul had almost kissed Kahei live on one of the shows they were on, but a quick tilt of Kahei’s head had saved them quite a lot of work to clean up after. 

 

Afterwards, Jiwoo sets down her bag with the macarons to allow anyone who wanted one to have one. As much as she liked sweets, she couldn’t finish them all and it made her feel a little guilty to hog them all despite it being Sooyoung’s present to her. Jiwoo would certainly return the favor sometime, as told by her sly wink from across the room. The looks that they used to share became more frequent, this time added with flirtatious winks and sometimes staring at the other when she thought that they weren’t watching. Jiwoo couldn’t help her fixation on Sooyoung, she was just so.. perfect!!

 

While Odd eye circle was practicing, Jiwoo tugged Sooyoung to the side so the members weren’t all in their faces. She sits Sooyoung down on the floor, to which Jiwoo promptly sits down on her toned thighs and squealed to herself. “I love youuu..” she whispered to her, a smile on her face.

 

The strength of the spine tingle every time Jiwoo mentioned her love to Sooyoung seemed more powerful every time. It was if with every mention out loud, it became more true. "I love you too," she whispered back, her head bowing down a little but her haze still in tact. "I love love love..." each time it just sent another wave of almost euphoric warmth through her body. 

 

Sooyoung couldn't remember the last time she spoke those words to her dog Haneul or even her mother - especially not with the meaning she had in mind for Jiwoo. All of the time they were looking to each other, it was if they were screaming the words through their eyes. As if the piece of tape covering their mouths to hide it from the world was ripped off, and all they wanted to do was call their names from across the room. But they didn't need to. They knew.

 

Her laughter got the best of her as she said the word, and instead lay her arms on the crossed legs that sat on her, and leaned in to rest her head on Jiwoo's shoulder in happy shyness. "How abouuuut..."

 

With a slight head movement, Sooyoung pursed and pressed her lips on the exposed part of Jiwoo's collarbone. "...now?"

 

When she first felt this way about someone— about Sooyoung, she hadn’t been expecting much. Her concept was Heart Attack and ‘Girl Crush’ and she probably was just getting into her role a bit too much. When she first saw her Unnie, she admired the elegant yet goofy woman. She was so kind to Jiwoo and they and helped each other settle in after joining loona, and Jiwoo was glad that Sooyoung had been the one to take it upon herself to help Jiwoo out.

 

Sooyoung was always special to Jiwoo, and she had always stood out. They became best friends, much like how the others expected, and exactly what the directors wanted. But Jiwoo and her were happy so she really couldn’t complain, after all, she was able to spend far more time around Sooyoung and always had an excuse to just want to talk to her. So when she had begun to drift apart from her, she had first felt desperate to close the rift beginning to form. Fate wasn’t on her side that day and gave her the worst few hours she knew, especially when she had ran away from Sooyoung in the morning. But now, after a messy cry session, the two were happy together. 

 

Jiwoo looked down in surprise at the dancer’s head tucked away against her neck, but for some reason she didn’t want to push her away for kissing her neck whatsoever. It was only for a brief second, a warm heat spreading through her and intensifying the ‘euphoric warmth’ that Sooyoung and her had been feeling. When Sooyoung pulls away, a red lipstick mark is left on her collarbone.

 

Jiwoo’s face is flushed, but she’s smiling like a goof and shakes her head. “Nono, more. Prove to me that you love me as much as I do,” She purred against the top of her raven hair, hands running down her back. Most of the staff and the members politely looked away from the PDA, but neither girl cared.

Caught up in the heat of the moment, challenged by her newly proclaimed love, Sooyoung's playfulness got the better of her, and her red lipstick went on the attack again. The giggling Sooyoung was making was unlike any laugh she'd done in front of the crew - unadulterated, not held back, pure joy. "Fat chance trying to prove you love me more," Sooyoung spoke into the chest of Jiwoo. Feeling more of her love's body close to hers, that same body heat washing over her, Sooyoung couldn't help but hug back. 

 

Before it would linger on, Sooyoung then went to tickle the sides of Jiwoo to break the connection a bit. There was no sure way the two of them were going to break the big news that they had just proclaimed love for each other this morning, but they would deal with it the first chance th-

 

"Hey lovebirds," Heekkie towered over with folded arms cupped on her elbows. "Are you going to be ready for the next song? You're in it."

 

Trying not to get too caught up in the moment, though falling miserably, Jiwoo lets out sweet giggles into Sooyoung’s ears as the woman continues to place kisses all over her collarbone and any places she can reach that isn’t hidden by her shirt, as irritating as that is. “Hey! You just wait and see, Sooyoungie. Plus, I’m going to be your heater tonight so don’t mark it up so much already. Well, if you’ll allow me to stay in your bed anyways. Mine is starting to feel a little lonely.” She says with a cute pout.

 

Squeals could be heard from the corner as Sooyoung continued to tickle and tease the poor girl, who was trying to protect herself yet at the same time try not to embarrass them both in front of anyone else. None of them were all too surprised by their behavior though, not even the staff. It made sense, though.

 

Jiwoo flinched when she hears Heejin’s voice, completely forgetting that they were in the practice room and still practicing. Jiwoo stuck her tongue out at her friend, to which Heejin makes a face back at her. “We’ll be ready! Don’t worry,” she insisted.

 

Sooyoung sent a nod towards Heejin to calm the two tongue-sticking talents from causing any more ruckus - or attention. Of course the two were being overly affectionate, and luckily for them it wasn't so unnatural of them to do so. Perhaps there were some actions more intimate than the two were known for, but seeing two friends fight - or silent treatment - each other, you'd expect the making up to be this return of happiness. "Just waiting our turn," Sooyoung smiled. "You looked great out there!"   
"Nice try Sooyoungie, I didn't see you looking," Heejin was quick to reply.   
"Don't have to. You're the best dancer here," Sooyoung ladled on the charm. Sooyoung was soaring with compliments and positivity. 

 

Her turn back to the group and eventual stride gave Sooyoung enough time to turn back around to the red lipstick-covered woman and whisper: "Too cold to sleep alone these nights."

 

Tapping the outer thigh of Jiwoo, Sooyoung helped her love off of her lap, and slowly stood up - allowing the blood to flood back into her legs. It would take a minute before she would be ready to dance, but again, it was all worth it. "Shall we?" Sooyoung gestured with her hand in a playful, polite manner - allowing her love to walk first to join the group in another full group practice session.

 

Jiwoo flashes Heejin a smile when Sooyoung compliments her, but all she could do was laugh when Heejin’s face reddened and she shook her head before walking away. She could see Hyunjin laughing at her, flustering Heejin further and causing the girl to start running at her friend. Jiwoo turns back in time so she doesn’t have to see Hyunjin’s fare, and instead looks down lovingly at Sooyoung. Heejin has called them lovebirds. It didn’t sound so bad when Jiwoo about it, a title for the two of them. Jiwoo smiled to herself and kissed the top of Sooyoung’s head before the dancer turned back to whisper to her. 

 

Her smile widens at Sooyoung’s comment, and she made a noise of her own happiness and pressed a quick smooch onto Sooyoung’s cheek, nuzzling her for a moment before having a realization.

 

“Sooyoung, how do I get these off??” Jiwoo looked genuinely confused as she tries to rub at the lipstick marks, only to have them smudge a little bit and then just stay the same. Jiwoo now had a bunch of red markings all over her neck, and some of them looked like they went deeper than just her shirt. She stood up as well, taking Sooyoung’s hand though still concerned about the markings on her. She could just imagine hearing 

 

"I-I don't know," Sooyoung sputtered with half a laugh, but also a slight tinge of concern. "Since when have I ever left lip marks on anyone?" 

 

Moving her thumb across Jiwoo's skin, only to see nothing was coming off – though more was sticking to her thumb – Sooyoung now realized why a lot of lipstick companies emphasize lipsticks that don't leave a trace. Why wouldn't you want to leave a trace, Sooyoung would say to herself. But back then, she didn't have bare skin to worry about keeping clean. "We'll just say I wanted to annoy you by leaving my signature all over you," Sooyoung resigned, her thumb now a bright red. "Which...isn't false, really."

 

Looking at her masterful artwork left on Jiwoo, Sooyoung couldn't help but chuckle a little more. "I love it," she said, turning back to face the group and walking towards them without properly resolving the lippy issue. Looking towards the dancers standing in their spots waiting for them, Sooyoung noticed that none of the ten were looking at her, but rather at Jiwoo.

 

The marks must've really left an impression. "You do realize today's the day we're talking to the press?" Heejin spoke, wanting to regain a little dignity after being outnumbered in their last encounter. Sooyoung turned to look at Jiwoo, and with only Jiwoo being able to see her wink at her, turned back: "I think it'll be good for us. For ChuuVes," Sooyoung was finding some legs to this story, hoping to make it seem there was genuine intention to do this and not young love's PDA.

 

“I wouldn’t know!” Jiwoo shrugs, still trying to rub them off. Hopefully they’d have enough time before the press to rub at least something off..

 

Frowning, Jiwoo attempts to rub at them only to still have them remain the same way the entire time and making her fingers just a little pink. There were so many of them, she’d probably need a wet towel or something to get it off. Hopefully, if she sweat hard enough, wiping it away would make it disappear. Dear lord, the fans would scream about this. Which wasn’t that bad, but all Sooyoung’s comment got from her was an awkward chuckle of gay panic.

 

Jiwoo makes a face at Sooyoung, but takes her hand again and continues to follow her towards the others. She was under the attention of all eleven of them and some of the staff, which was a little bit intimidating. Jiwoo was rather small and with all of these marks on her she couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. Sooyoung could see her face becoming redder and redder with each passing moment.

 

Yeojin and Yerim seemed to be chuckling to each other, Jungeun looking surprised with Jinsoul discreetly (by attempting to hide her phone underneath her hair) taking pictures when no one was looking. Haseul looked like she was about to scold them, but Kahei was holding her back as she herself was as irritated as her. Though, Kahei would never admit that she found this a little funny. Chaewon and Hyejoo looked both amused yet also a little frightened with what they and been encouraging.

Jiwoo clears her throat and squeezes Sooyoung’s hand. “I’ll wipe it off if we really need to, Sooyoungie was just being silly and wanted to annoy me.” It didn’t sound like the full story but she merely shook her head and got in her own position, a heavy blush on her face. The others seemed to notice her embarrassment and calmed down a little bit, though the teasing that Jiwoo and sooyoung would receive later would be relentless. “Lets just.. practice! Yeah!”

 

The sweat flooded just as quickly as the main beat to 'Curiosity' kicked in. Synchronized chaos in perpetual motion, the temperature raised incrementally until the hum of the air conditioning vents above cranked up in intensity for the sudden change of room heat. There was a newfound vitality in the room, with more on the line than ever before.

 

So much of the work had been boiling up to making a huge splash with [X X], but an album release isn't the end result. Promotions performances inhabit the schedule for weeks, with the daily rehearsals soon becoming TV appearances and long press junkets. Questions will be thrown at them – some banal, some intended to throw them off their game, some just illogical – and the team will be expected to handle each one with the same grace and poise that had made Loona what it is today: truly unique. 

 

Staring at the mirror with each arm jolt and leg pivot, Sooyoung had no hesitation left in her body to concern herself with what was to come; she had emotional support in Jiwoo in a deeper sense than before. Jiwoo heard all of Sooyoung's previous worries in random chit-chat between practices, lunches and nighttime TV viewing, but now there seemed to be a bigger chance for the two of them to make lasting change emotionally. To be of help to Jiwoo in any additional way was an exciting thought to Sooyoung, who had held onto the idea that she could be a bigger part of someone's life.

 

The eyes dart toward the determined face of 'Chuu', the performer on stage hitting all her marks with the same charming grace 'Yves' fell for. Even the red marks of lipstick didn't break her when Jiwoo was performing. She never felt such happiness in the heart than Sooyoung felt at that moment.

 

Each girl worked hard to achieve perfection for their orbits, and each one did it in their own ways. They showed their love for their fans and fought on with their support, otherwise they probably wouldn’t have made it this far. Loona consisted of twelve, brave and strong girls who were young and unafraid. They were elegant, regal, and unique, and everything that they could have ever dreamed of.

 

With their new comeback coming out once they finished up performances and fan meets with [X X], it was time to move on to #. Though, Jiwoo didn’t fully understand the concepts, but with the amount of hard work coming up and the amount of time they’d have to spend on it would definitely prove that she would understand with due time. Jiwoo wouldn’t let herself be buried under the workloads, and she would have to keep on going without stopping. She had her home, her family there with her helping her along they way. She could relate to them all, and she had Sooyoung to support her.

 

Ugh, she was so whipped.


	6. VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so! For the fic we have a editor now (thank you so much, my favorite jinsoul stan even though I make fun and clown you a ton :DDD) so uploads will take a bit longer and be more spaced out. But! Hopefully the writing will run smoother 
> 
> previous chapters may be reuploaded with edited bits and pieces in the future! enjoy the chapter! things get spicy soon

Time flew quickly and next thing they knew they were standing in front of a huge advertisement banner and wearing their outfits for Butterfly. Jiwoo stood beside Sooyoung, hand in hand, looking a little nervous but excited. There were fans everywhere, and she prayed to god that none of the lipstick marks on her neck remained. If they had then she wouldn’t really complain, since it’d only be material that would make everyone else want to tease her. But still - she couldn’t help but worry. Her hand squeezed Sooyoung’s, and she looked up at her girlfriend.

 

Her eyes look desperate and a little scared, even when she was standing beside her. All Jiwoo wanted to do was wrap her arms around her. To hold her close and forget about the people taking pictures. To be who she was with her. They were soon going to sit down to prepare anyway, but Jiwoo couldn’t help her heart racing. “Sooyoung...” She whispered softly.

 

"Hey," Sooyoung whispered back, a kind smile reflecting on her face. "Are you just as terrified?" Sooyoung thought to let Jiwoo know of her fears in order to soothe the nerves. {Sooyoung thought to let Jiwoo in on her own fears to soothe her nerves.} Simply saying it will be fine never tended to do much; sharing in the fear together had gotten the two of them through hardships in the past. "Just think about sleeping tonight and you'll be fine. Just-" Sooyoung's eyes looked a little more surprised. "Don't talk about tonight."

 

Another chuckle emerged, followed by a small gesture to move some strands of loose hair from her face, where there was none. If anything, this small tic was Sooyoung's way of showing that she wasn't one hundred percent entirely confident. Normally fidgety in this situation, the hand in hers kept Sooyoung's composure. Standing by the entire group, Sooyoung knew there would be plenty of questions spread out across the group – what about Hyunjin or Heejin?

 

Walking on with her own rendition of lavish costuming was the host of the panel, Shin Ayeong, wearing an elongated white dress with butterfly etches and frilled arm sleeves. Sooyoung recognised her as a reality TV star of that show she couldn't quite put a name to, but only hoped that she would manage hosting without making things awkward. "Thank you, wonderful ladies and gentlemen, for coming here to see LOONA in all their wonderful glory," Ayeong commanded her voice louder into the handheld microphone than needed, considering her own microphone was attached to her ear. "Can we give it up for these fantastic twelve ladies?"

 

The room erupted in applause, with a mixture of fans and media showing face and either genuinely applauding, or helping move the proceedings on. "Today we'll be taking some questions from the group about their latest album, [X X], as well as things to expect from this group."

 

"Stan Loona!" a lone voice shrieked from the back of the room.

"Yes, there's that too. We can ask them that too," Ayeong seemed a little less enthusiastic about it. Perhaps in the briefing she was told to steer clear of it, but Sooyoung only tightened her grip around Jiwoo's hand.

 

Jiwoo looked at Sooyoung with that hopeful look, because despite it not being much she had succeeded in calming Jiwoo down just a little bit. She leaned into Sooyoung’s arm again, taking advantage of the fact that she was one of the more cuddly members of the group. This time she got to show how she felt, pleasant and happy to be in such a close proximity to her lover. She could’ve sworn she heard Chuuves! somewhere in the room, but it was heard often enough to the point where it was not too surprising to catch.

 

Jiwoo liked how natural Sooyoung was at this. As their leader, she was such an admirable person that she could not help but be in awe whenever they were on stage. Whenever they stepped on stage, there was always an air of confidence to Sooyoung that was capable of making anyone drool over her. Going to perform was something they all were used to, but it was nerve wracking nonetheless. Eventually, they would grow comfortable here in front of their audience and Jiwoo and Sooyoung could be their happy little selves. 

 

Or, should she say Chuu and Yves? 

 

After all, they were their stage personas. It was about time that she sank into her own.

 

Loona bowed, laughing a little bit at the fans, with some even cheering back. 

 

Jiwoo squeezed Sooyoung’s hand underneath the table as they sat down in their member order. She waved to the fans with her other hand, making sure to stay secretive about their interlocked hands. This panel was probably going to be more fan service than anything, but Jiwoo didn’t seem to mind at all. This was like every other press and meeting they had been to, so they should act natural! Plus, it was usually their leaders who talked about the group and answered questions, unless specific questions were directed at other members. 

 

Jiwoo did not seem to notice Ayeong’s slightly less-excited voice when she talked about stan loona, but the girls were oozing with their normal positive energy. Having twelve people to interview was a tough job, especially when they were such a chaotic family on their own. But having them on their show definitely brought new fans in.

 

Her thumb gently rubbed and pressed against Sooyoung’s hand, a pleasant smile on her face. Sooyoung might have seen it, the little kiss on the base of the side of Jiwoo’s neck, though it wasn’t too visible with the collar of her shirt. One could only imagine what it could be….

 

As Ayeong strolled to the closest girl, Kahei looked up to the host with a smile – her pink hair freshly dolled up from the hair stylist back in the green room. "ViVi!" Ayeong exclaimed with pride, having read her notes well enough to match name to description.

"Yes!" ViVi spoke back with her trademark smile, nodding to the crowd who were already taking photos – blinding the group like a sea of obnoxiously blinding bright stars.

"Right, so I wanted to first ask you how you're feeling about the new album?" Ayeong seemed comfortable asking her question, despite the suspicion on how much research she did before coming up on stage.

 

"Well we're just thrilled at how it all turned out, we have such an incredible crew that ha--" ViVi was handling the question with the kind of sharpened response the group had been given decent training. Promoting your album was all in giving props to as many involved people as possible.

 

Unfortunately Ayeong was already onto the next question. "And what would you say is your favorite song on the album?" The host's microphone was pointed towards ViVi. 

 

After a moment's pause from ViVi, Haseul leaned in from her side to answer: "All of the songs on the album have a special place in our hearts. It wouldn't be fair to choo--"

 

"But if you had to, which would it be?" Ayeong pushed.

 

"Well then, we'd choose them all!" Kim Lip interjected.

 

Leaning closer to Jiwoo, Sooyoung whispered low enough not for any of the mics to pick it up. "She's not very good at this, is she?" Sooyoung's head had not turned to look away from the host, but as soon as she spoke, Ayeong spotted Sooyoung. With her back facing the audience, only the group saw the furling of Ayeong’s lips – the slight dip of her eyebrows.

 

Considering that Kahei was one of the most gentle, kind, and not-chaotic people in the whole group, she was surprised to see the girl looking a little confused and mildly frustrated after being cut off. Jiwoo just hoped that her chaotic family knew to do when it came to hosts like these - where they did not care about who their guests were; only that they gave an opportunity for a small program to gain publicity.

 

But damn, even Jiwoo was surprised. So when Sooyoung had turned to her, her smile had widened as if Sooyoung had told her something funny. When it came to things like these, Jiwoo knew exactly when to smile and how to act to make it seem like the thing that had been said was... a little bit nicer. 

 

Clearly, Jiwoo had wanted to whisper back to Sooyoung, but with the risk of being in front of people, she played it off like it was a little joke between children. This type of behaviour was a constant. The audience and cameras seemed to enjoy taking pictures of the two women near the end of the table. 

 

Jiwoo wondered if they would be playing a game today on the show. Or that maybe Hyunjin would receive a loaf of bread on the show again like News Ade did. If this went wrong enough, the fans would be able to see them as the professionals they were, politely playing off their own discomfort and comfort - and meant that the show would get a bad reputation for putting them in that position in the first place. Jiwoo gave Ayeong her signature megawatt smile, making eye contact before being pulled away by the flash of a camera.

 

Like a child being caught by the teacher from the back of the room, Sooyoung had a slight tension in her stomach. This interview was meant for the group to shine - not to make their host look bad. There was always a delicate balance of having fun with the host enough to keep things going, but to not make fun of someone who may have never heard of you. With the amount of people that interview LOONA in a given month, Sooyoung felt she was embarrassingly bad with names for new people. Clearing her throat and sitting up straighter, Sooyoung instead glanced at the audience in a playful manner to indicate she was being rude.

 

One by one the group was thrown an easy question. Though some had no real context for the album – the question: "so what was it like to collaborate with all these big artists?" had Gowon answer singing praise for Canadian singer Grimes, the only artist they collaborated with – and eventually it came to be that the butterfly-adorned host was holding an unnecessary microphone towards Sooyoung's face. "So, Yves, we've got to ask because the audience is clearly interested. What's going on with you and Chuu?"

 

Sooyoung wanted nothing more than to proclaim her love, but her line of work demanded professionalism. This was also a question the two in question faced ad nauseam from social media and interviews. She had grown to love it, though before the proclamation of love was more 'ChuuVes', and not 'JiSooyoung'. 

 

Internally, Sooyoung was hoping that Ayeong had ignored her little whisper to Jiwoo, though the kind of question she was given made her think otherwise: "This isn't just pretend, right? You being a couple and cutesy?" 

 

Before she could speak a word, Ayeong spoke over Sooyoung's chance to reply. "It would be disingenuous to a lot of people out there if it was."

 

The comment stunned the entire group. Even Jiwoo was, who in all her years, had never, ever, seen any news show ask the group about relationships and love. Usually it was just a joke, but this reporter was dead-serious. 

 

And they had only established their feelings this morning... how had the news spread this far?

 

The question startled Jiwoo into a giggle. And then a laugh. Surprised as she was, Jiwoo was not sure whether she should deflect the question directed at her or to give the world a sneak peak into their personal lives.

 

She felt Chaewon reach over underneath the table and squeeze Jiwoo’s free hand, as if telling her ’Don’t do anything dumb or we’ll kill you’. 

 

To which she could only smile sheepishly back before moving on to actually answer the question. Her eyes gleamed as she stared Ayeong down and turned to look directly at the audience and camera. Even Jiwoo could see their manager backstage was probably worried and what she would do, but she would play this off so at least it could be considered somewhat... well...

 

Jiwoo didn’t just give an answer. Her body latched onto Sooyoung’s closest arm and tucked her head against Sooyoung’s shoulder in a very couple like manner, with the same affection that she always showed for the other members. “Yves is mine! And it isn’t pretend, because I love her with all my heart!” She wiggled her eyebrows playfully, leaning in to place an adoring smooch on Yves’s cheek, before pulling away and sitting back down in her seat.

 

The roar of the audience hurt her ears, but Jiwoo merely smiled and waved while retaking Sooyoung’s hand under the table. Concern past her eyes for a moment as she looked at Sooyoung with a subtle smile, completely different from her aegyo-dripping-persona, as if the smile was meant to ask the other girl if she was alright. 

That question had been quite a lot to handle and Jiwoo wondered if she overdid it. Although, showing everyone how much she loved Sooyoung... it was nice.

 

Sooyoung did not flinch, even during the peck on her cheek. But her hand tightened that much more. The heartbeat pounding in her chest might as well have been visible to the naked eye, because all Sooyoung wanted to do was scream out with glee. 

Unsure whether her face was glowing a bright red from shyness, Sooyoung looked towards Jiwoo with a confirming smile. The reaction from the audience was one that Sooyoung had hoped would happen, as it gave her the chance to show the genuine smile that hid behind the tailored loon on Yves's face. "I think she summed it up perfectly," Sooyoung's voice sounded playful, but for her it was dripping with smugness from turning Ayeong's out-of-character question upside down. "Didn't you see Heart Attack?" A cheeky wink and tongue poke followed suit.

 

The crowd made all manners of noises and laughs. This kind of reaction was what she and the rest of the crew were used to. They had become so comfortable now with each other that even when faced with an upfront question like that, they could get through it relatively unscathed. To most, that could have been seen as just another Chuuves game. On the inside, Sooyoung was beaming with pride.

 

After that question, Jiwoo deemed herself worthy of relaxing on Sooyoung for the rest of the press show just to prove how much she loved her. Head resting against her shoulder, hand in hand, and even allowing Sooyoung to wrap an arm around her waist, the two looked happier than ever. She could only imagine the shippers unlike going crazy about Chuuves being confirmed, even if it was only with their personas. But one imagine would make it out that could possibly seal the deal, that being the one that is able to somehow capture the little reddish-pink spot on the side of her neck. Jiwoo couldn’t really complain though - seeing Ayeong’s flush faced at how well they had responded to the question was seriously making Jiwoo want to tumble out of her seat and laugh.

 

Chaewon let out a sigh of relief as she and Hyejoo shared a look. They seemed to almost telepathically connect before sinking back into their seats while just a few fingers entangled under the table. No one needed to know though, especially when Chuu and Yves were at the center of attention at that moment. No kpop group really did this kind of PDA, with the exception of the occasional flirty touches - but the idols looked incredibly comfortable with one another.

 

There was a sense of intrepidity from the group after Chuu's display of affection to Yves. The extra attention was not a cause for any jealousy in the group - it merely helped the group establish that there was more to them than just another pop group. 

Ayeong kept face and rounded up the interview with a couple more gentle questions about upcoming appearances and what to expect in the future, and then gave a rousing shout once more for the name Loona. With no hesitation the audience broke into applause. 

Given the whirlwind of events in the last few days, Sooyoung was surprised they managed to hold an interview like this without any hiccups. Perhaps it was the adrenaline coursing through her veins, but Sooyoung knew she would soon crash from tiredness. It had been such a fulfilling yet long day.

 

One by one the girls stood and filed out from behind the desk, each giving a kiss, a single or double handed wave or even a little jump in the air. Lining up along the stage, each woman stood to pose for a group photo. During this part was especially hard on the eyes, with the flashes of cameras being so bright and blinding, and yet having to hide squinting to perfect photos. 

 

The host gestured for the guests to walk off to the right. Sooyoung had learned from her manager that the best way off stage was to follow the person next to you, because chances are they would safely lead you off stage when your eyes were filled with nothing but dark spots. 

A couple of excited ‘hee’s sounded from behind Jiwoo and Sooyoung - possibly from Kahei - ecstatic that it went well. 

Sooyoung made a note to check on her later whether she had been okay with the host's behaviour. 

 

Once out of the room and into the corridor, Sooyoung turned to Jiwoo and hugged her with both arms as the rest piled into the hallway.

 

It was finally over. 

Jiwoo had zoned out for the majority of it, occasionally commenting and answering questions directed towards her. It did go smoothly for the rest of the time, and it made her slightly relieved to know that she was okay to relax just a little bit. Being an idol was exhausting - even if people chose not to believe it - considering the amount of work and effort they put into doing what they do. It was hard but at the same time it was a fulfilling career, and the love they received from their fans is amazing. Jiwoo even got to cling to Sooyoung more, which satisfied the younger girl’s needs of cuddling for now. They helped to keep each other awake, especially with the lack of sleep they and gotten from the night before. She had hoped that today they could make up for it, anyways.

 

Jiwoo was good at not-squinting. And when she did she still looked cute. She didn’t need to focus on one camera in particular, just stand up straight and look pretty. Occasionally her arm would brush Sooyoung’s, but other than that she didn’t say much. She really just wanted to get this over and done with.

 

Still a little foggy in her vision, she felt familiar warm arms wrap around her. A gooey smile grew on her face and she temporarily forgot the throbbing in her eyes and the headache she had had, returning the hug from the older woman. Jiwoo squeezed her tight, swaying while the other members made their way in. This was nice, to just be with Sooyoung like this. Since they had the rest of the day free she could certainly spend more time with her in their bedroom. 

Jiwoo breathed in Sooyoung’s smell and giggled quietly, nuzzling her.

 

“I love you.” The words were not loud at all, a whisper of three words that only Sooyoung was meant to hear for the woman cradling the girl. Jiwoo couldn’t be happier.

 

Any other time that Jiwoo and Sooyoung would embrace for this long, and the girls would be asking questions. Today, there seemed to be a general consensus that this was fine, and to leave them be. The questions and prodding would come during the van ride home. Sooyoung took a peek at the rest of the group as they left the peering view of the audience, and finally felt like she could let her guard down. 

 

The hardest part was done. All that was left was an interview or two with a handful of members - whether it was yyxy or the others, it wasn't specified just yet. 

No matter, Sooyoung thought, because the two of them had proven to each other that Yves and Chuu could live on as a flirty couple. Yet tonight in the confines of the condo, Jiwoo and Sooyoung could begin to live as an actual flirty couple. "Love you too, Jiwoo," Sooyoung spoke with no need for a nickname or playfulness to hide behind like she did in the past. 

 

The little steps, rocking side to side, was fun, comforting and familiar. The two had hugged before, and Sooyoung oftentimes closed her eyes to imagine what this same hug would feel like a proper couple. Now was the time she could do it. A small nuzzle of Jiwoo's cheek broke the hug, and Sooyoung placed her hands on the outsides of Jiwoo's arms. "You did amazing just now," A bigger smile crept onto Sooyoung's face. "I am so impressed."

 

Jiwoo’s body felt heavy with exhaustion, and she was mostly leaning up against Sooyoung’s body at this point. It was such a nice hug and she couldn’t even help it. This was her Sooyoung-unnie who she could never say no to. Jiwoo didn’t even think about what the others were wondering about with the two of them being far closer than usual, and it really wouldn’t take much to convince them of their relationship being real. If anything, they’d encourage more of it and tolerate the grossness of the couple’s antics. 

 

Jiwoo didn’t want to move from her spot in Sooyoung’s arms, far too comfortable to do anything else. The girls around her seemed to understand anyways, with Haseul and Kahei quietly chatting with one another in the corner, with Haseul most likely checking up on the latter. The bean sometimes came by to screech at them, but was otherwise tired enough to give them their space. Almost everyone would be asleep in the car ride home anyways, and Sooyoung whispered to her soft words of love that made the entire drive so much more enchanting. It was perfect.

 

With the mention of what happened on stage, Jiwoo froze up. “Sooyoung, it was terrible! I got so nervous; I didn’t want us to get in trouble…” Jiwoo shook her head, squishing Sooyoung’s cheeks playfully as she swayed in her arms. “I just wanted to prove that we can be whoever we want to be! Plus, I almost fell asleep on stage when you hugged me - it was so boring.”   
She saw Chaewon wink at her, while Hyejoo smiled and decided to just tilt her head the other way.

 

"It wasn't terrible," Sooyoung assured. "That host had no right to ask such a question. But hey..." Her hand moved to pull a bit of Jiwoo's top fabric from her neck, cheekily exposing the one peck they couldn't remove. "...She didn't see this, at least. And I have got to find new lipstick. Oh!" Sooyoung's eyes lit up. "Come shopping with me?" 

Jiwoo gave her a little nod of relief, glad that at least their collar was enough to cover up most of the lipstick mark. If anything, it could be a rash that couldn’t really be covered up or recovering from an injury. She hoped that’s what the people would think, anyways.

 

Her smile widened and she beamed at her. “Of course! I was running out of lip balm lately, so we can go look for that too.” She giggled in a child like manner, though she can blame all of that on Sooyoung. She made Jiwoo let down all of her walls and it surely wasn’t a bad thing, since fans would be able to see Jiwoo always forever happy around sooyoung. Or, Chuu and Yves would be, and a little bit of Jiwoo in the mix. She couldn’t help her excitement.

All of this talk about spending time together, made Sooyoung feel like she was getting ahead of herself. Though, if there was anything to go on for judging whether Jiwoo was just as interested in her, what happened mere minutes ago proved it. Their characters would be in love, and so would they - in their own, unique way. 

 

The girls slowly retreated back towards the green room where their belongings and more relaxed clothes would be. A hand tapping on Sooyoung's shoulder turned out to be the manager, with a slight hesitation on their face. "Yves, we need a few people for a group interview with a journalist."

 

 

A frown formed on Jiwoo’s face when the interview was mentioned - it meant that they probably would not be able to leave together. She let go of Sooyoung, standing close to her but also allowing her and the manager space. Jiwoo didn’t want to be too clingy, but she would definitely taking up the rest of Sooyoung’s time when her schedule was clear. 

 

Sooyoung could not have provided a more miserable reaction to her manager's request. There was no real way to turn down requests like this - they were all in it together, talent and management, and any form of publicity was good. The hand attached to Jiwoo's didn't seem to falter its grip. In fact, it tightened. 

"Sure," She sighed finally, resigned. "No problem."

And Jiwoo didn’t want to leave Sooyoung, even if they had only just became a couple with her this morning. She was so excited to be around her; she basically was a little, adorable puppy for the older girl. When they finished this up they could go shopping and then get dinner together and then go home and sleep! Oh, she couldn’t wait. 

Jiwoo squeezed Sooyoung’s hand, seeing the disappointed look on her face. Work came first, after all.

 

Spotting the conflict of interest between Sooyoung’s body and mind, the manager then glanced at Jiwoo. "There's always room for one more," The manager reasoned. "We can tell the journalist it's his lucky day. He better get another page or two in his feature or we'll make him feel guilty for it."

 

A lifeline from the manager was rare. Clearly the day had been exhausting, and wanting to keep the energy upbeat, they thought to separate the two to avoid those kind of questions. But perhaps now was the perfect time for the two to be together. A smile spread across Sooyoung's face. With Jiwoo as support, perhaps she would be able to get through this interview. "Are you sure?" she asked, looking back at Jiwoo to get her approval.

 

“Yes! Yes!” Her softness from before turned into a gushing girl as she sprung up, trapping both Sooyoung and the manager in a bear hug. She couldn’t help it, she was just so excited to spend the entire day with Sooyoung. “I’d love to come!” Jiwoo chirped, as if it were not clear enough already. She clung to Sooyoung’s arm, nestling against her affectionately and looking incredibly happy as if someone had just told her she had won a lottery or something.

 

Whatever place Jiwoo was able to conjure such enthusiasm, Sooyoung admirably questioned and hoped she could do the same in the future. Relieved at such solace given in an otherwise inconvenient situation, Sooyoung took the chance at trudging through an interview with a magazine journalist with Jiwoo in hand. ChuuVes could have another go in public, and would get to see what life was like now knowing the two were truly head-over-heels for each other and they both knew it.

 

"Lead the way," Sooyoung replied, using her free hand to fix her hair a little bit. Jiwoo was pulled gently behind her as the manager. Haseul and Kim Lip led them away from the rest of the group, who were either teasingly waving goodbye, or sharing their sympathy for having taken the hit for the extra interview.

 

Looking towards one of the rooms down the corridor with a small group of people waiting by the door, the manager put on a gentle face and thanked the journalist, photographer and assistant for waiting. "Today we managed to grab not only the leaders, but as you may well know, the famous ChuuVes who killed it out there," A collective chuckle of agreement from the group followed. 

 

"That's more than we were expecting, thank you," The mild-mannered journalist – dressed a little more casual with a black blazer and thin red tie with stone blue jeans and Converse sneakers – nodded his head.

 

The short-haired assistant bowed, then scrambled to open the green room door, allowing the crew to walk in before her. "We hope you don't mind the… cosiness, I guess you could call it," She managed to speak, a slight cringe in her face. It seemed the assistant was used to the diva attitude. The group simply smiled and headed into the small, white-walled room. A few soft leather couches and chairs seemed to have been taken from other rooms to make up for the extra amount of people. 

 

On the walls were make-up mirrors with the light bulbs adorning the borders of the mirror. There was a mixture of fluorescent and incandescent lighting in the room, but luckily just enough to let any snaps the photographer took to be good enough.

 

As each of the members found a place to sit – Haseul and Kim Lip on one couch, and Sooyoung and Jiwoo on the other – the journalist sat down, placing a recorder on the table in the middle of the room, and flipping open a notepad. "I hope you don't mind me recording the interview, it just makes it easier to listen to the interview instead of writing." 

 

"No problem, just send us a copy of it afterwards," The manager spoke with a nod. The journalist was not expecting that answer, but agreed.

 

Jiwoo did not mean to be too excited when she was invited to the interview as well, but she just could not help that being with her favorite friends, like Jungeun and Haseul, was quite exciting. Jiwoo resigned herself to just hanging onto Sooyoung, not too possessive as she had been before, but enough to show that she was glad that she could be around them all. She and the manager got along fairly well, much to her satisfaction. The manager even allowed for Jiwoo to go have fun and be free just for a little bit as long as she didn’t do anything dumb. Plus, she has played it off rather smoothly earlier. It was not their fault that she came after Sooyoung and had to sit beside her! It was like the whole Chuuves problem was hers in the first place, since she clearly was not the interviewer.

 

Jiwoo was somewhat glad that she had dressed slightly more casually than them still in their outfits. It was less intimidating when he looked in such a way rather than a full on suit and sleek hair. She doesn’t recognize the room and it’s nothing too fancy, but enough for the girls to be able to sit back comfortably throughout the interview. Jiwoo was just still really happy.

 

Jiwoo gave the assistant a large smile as they all sat down. She relaxed while sitting beside Sooyoung. She had to admit it was rather hard to keep her hands off of her, but Jiwoo was doing her best here. She could not forget about the macaroons that were still in her bag - Jiwoo was definitely going to make sure it was all gone by the time she was done with this place. Then the two of them could finally go shopping and get dinner.

 

Wait, was this technically their first date? Jiwoo would have to ask Sooyoung later. They would not be able to kiss in public. Just thinking about it made excited chills roll down Jiwoo’s spine. She stole a glance at Sooyoung and smiled before turning back to the journalist, ready.

 

Catching the twinkle in Jiwoo's eye from her side-glance, Sooyoung could not help but chuckle. There was such vigor and excitement within Jiwoo that Sooyoung had fallen in love with – the kind of characteristics that made her who she was. That was what made this match work so well. They could play off of each other's vibes, and seemed to gel better than any other. 

As the niceties and small chit-chat began to dissipate, the girls were left with a journalist looking at each of them individually as he thanked them one by one for being with him. "First off, I wanted to get an idea of what it felt like to be able to finally come together, because we're lucky enough to have the leaders of LOONA 1/3, Odd Eye Circle and yyxy," The journalist began. Sooyoung was impressed that he at least had a better understanding than Ayeong - not that it was a hard achievement. 

 

"You know, we had known about the whole group for the longest time," Jungeun started, leaning a little further in. "We filmed Loona TV together and had to-" Her hands made a wavy motion to symbolize blurring her face. "-Hide the girls that hadn't been announced."

 

"It was quite tough," Haseul continued. "Because of course we were all working so hard in the background to prepare for Odd Eye Circle to be launched, and then of course-" She gestured towards Sooyoung and Jiwoo with a nod. "-yyxy for their debut, and until then it felt like we had to be so secretive."

 

"It must have been hard to keep it all a secret," The journalist nodded in understanding.

 

"So much." Sooyoung jumped in. "Getting to watch these girls all debut with their own songs, and of course we're on the sidelines just getting so excited for them, and getting to show off their voice and their talent..."

 

"This isn't your usual way to announce a group like yours," The journalist added. "But it definitely gave people something to keep looking forward to. And you post so much stuff every day!"

 

The group laughed, grinning at each other. "So much?" Haseul playfully replied. "We thought we were slacking off a bit."

 

“The chemistry between Loona seems to be very close, and it seems that orbits seem to be especially proud of the member’s relationships. Like the classic power couple of Chuu and Yves.” The journalist smiled at the two singers sitting on the couch before continuing.

 

“Speaking of Chuu, how did you feel about getting a place into Loona? We have previously asked the leader line about this, but since you’re our special guest here today, the spotlight is turned to you.” 

 

It could be the reason why Chuuves had become so popular, with the elegance and boldness of Yves followed by the passionate and carefree Chuu. The two had become quite the duo even if the other members had not been released yet. 

Jiwoo was quite happy that she was able to score a spot on Loona. It had been incredibly competitive and everyone worked extremely hard for the last remaining spots. Thankfully, Chaewon, Hyejoo, and Jiwoo has made it on within their first few auditions to complete all of Loona. It had been so exciting - and she could brag to the people that she knew too! There were a lot of tears when they were finally accepted, and Jiwoo could hardly wait until they could record things as a group. Seriously, it was just so amazing the efforts the members of the group go through.

 

Being the addition to the leader line, Jiwoo decided to contribute to be at least be somewhat useful. “But the girls work hard to produce content for our fans, our orbits, and let them know that we appreciate and love them as much as they do for us! Without them, we definitely wouldn’t have made it this far. Lots of the credit goes to the organizing and management of BBC.” Jiwoo’s smile widened, and she squeezed Sooyoung’s hand before giggling. “Some of us weren’t very adjusted to being on camera like a reality show. Eventually, everyone had slowly adjusted and had an understanding of one another after becoming comfortable. It was nice to see everyone so happy.”

 

Jungeun and Haseul nodded in agreement, pleased to see their maknae acting so responsible after the little stunt she had pulled off successfully earlier. 

 

“The blurred girls are gone now with all of us finally here. Not to mention the plot points of Loona and the storyline will continue to progress as long as we continue to produce music.” Haseul added in, nodding towards Jiwoo and smiling.

 

"We can all agree that we're glad none of us are blurry anymore," Sooyoung joked. "We could have relaxed on the makeup those days if we knew!"

 

The group broke into another set of laughter, with the fine clicks of the photographer’s camera picking up the girls mid-laugh.

 

"And we just cannot wait to show you more of Loona's world," Jungeun threw in, with a look to Jiwoo that seemed to have more knowledge behind that statement than either she or Sooyoung knew. 

 

Sooyoung looked at Jungeun's glance with some curiosity. Up to this point, there had been some discussion on which direction the storyline would go from here, but nothing concrete. They were told it all depended on how things went with the album release. What if there was something that Chuuves now didn't know about Chuuves future?

 

"Any hints at all you could give me?" The journalist was trying his best to get something out of Jungeun. Her reply was vague, but her glance towards the other girls meant that she was either playing it up to rouse interest, or knew more than she was letting on. "So does the whole of Loona really live in the same condo?" The journalist leaned in, curious to find out if it were all for show.

 

"Really." Haseul nodded. "Our manager doesn't. We need our space," The girls chimed in with laughter. "But it's great being together."

 

"I think it's great for us to all get to live outside of work," Sooyoung spoke. "Because sometimes we forget how hard we're working every day, and we don't get the chance to just hang out together at home."

 

"Do you all watch TV together?" The journalist looked to each of them as he said it.

 

"Sometimes!" Sooyoung smiled, glancing at Jiwoo then back to the journalist. "Though we work into the later hours, and tend to end up on the couch watching reruns of King Sejong the Great."

 

"King Sejong is great, and even better when you're eating ice-cream at 2am," Haseul leaned back, mimicking how she would look lounging on the couch. "Ice-cream..."

 

"So, sharing the bathroom, kitchen...?" The journal prodded, hoping for the girls to explain a little more on the inner workings of a shared house with twelve girls.

 

"Everything," Jungeun spoke up, glancing over at the other girls. "Not as bad as you think, though. We all take turns cleaning the place up, and we're lucky the condo is big enough to fit us all in."

 

"Yves even cooks for us!" Haseul threw her thumb and finger together to show her appreciation. "Best breakfast ever."

 

Sooyoung's face began to redden. Talking about her cooking as of late held some strong emotions. "Nothing beats waffles," Sooyoung chimed in. "Can't beat strawberries on top."

 

Jiwoo gave an eager smile to the reporter. “Vivi, Haseul, and Yves are the only ones that are actually allowed in the kitchen to cook! Otherwise the place will smell like smoke, and none of us prefer that scent over anything.” 

 

Jiwoo shuddered with flashbacks to when Chaewon had burnt her chicken nuggets and had the entire condo smell like smoke for says. It was pretty darn terrible to only be able to smell that for a good week or two. Eventually they had forgiven Chaewon and she was able to eat chicken nuggets in peace once more. At least, whenever one of the girls did not walk behind her only to snatch up a nugget from her plate just to watch the blonde look around and get red-faced with confusion. The only ones who were ever able to do this and make it out alive are Hyejoo, Haseul, and Kahei - everyone else could pretty much kiss their chicken nuggets goodbye unless they make their own.

 

“Though, after a long day of working something we have an agreement on ordering food. Usually we have to get three orders of each thing though, since there are so many of us. Sometimes it’s like a buffet. It takes a while for everyone to eat and do the dishes.” Haseul said, even when the past few days had just been a bunch of sweets and treats. “Unless we really have free time, we aren’t able to go out to enjoy foods at restaurants. It’s a little hard to cater to twelve girls in one place, so normally we just split up into our sub groups but sit nearby when we do.”

 

Jiwoo shoot Sooyoung a cheeky smile and then turned back to the journalist. “Breakfast is almost always leftovers.”

 

Sooyoung caught a glimpse of Jiwoo after hearing about breakfast being leftovers and wanted to punch her arm. Instead, she just gave an open mouthed shocked look. "I thought my waffles were good!" She squawked playfully. 

Jiwoo grinned at her, knowing almost exactly what she wanted to do. Ah, how fun it was to rile Sooyoung up. “They are good! But I can’t eat all of them and everyone else always takes them, what am I supposed to do! Your waffles are my favorite, unnie.” She said with a wide smile, squeezing Sooyoung’s arm.

This interview was so much smoother than the one before. Most intimate interviews were, and it was nice to finish the day with one. 

 

As the photographer started his next question about favourite foods, the photographer had begun to take one of the girls away from the group - Haseul waving bye to the journalist for permission to excuse herself to move to the corner of the room for a few single pose shots. As the camera clicked away, Jungeun gushed all about pizza and sushi.

 

Soon the photographer came to exchange Jungeun with Haseul for the photoshoot, with Jungeun sitting back down. 

 

The journalist then looked to Jiwoo. "So what was it like to make your debut after Yves? The first video seemed to be all about her. Are you good friends?"

 

“Oh, after her? It was actually really nice!” Jiwoo described all of this to the journalist eagerly, “Yves helped look after me and she made sure I was taking care of myself throughout shooting. I couldn’t do the same for her during hers though, since I hadn’t been accepted yet and was still busy with preparations for auditions.” Jiwoo leaned against Sooyoung, hugging her arm. “She’s my best friend! Or one of my best friends, but she’s definitely up at the top of my list.” Jiwoo’s heart swelled up with pride as she talked about her.

 

“It was a little scary to debut as the tenth member, since I didn’t want to disappoint anyone or fail to meet expectations when all the others had done so well. After all, the video is about my admiration for Yves and I want to convey that in the best way that I can.”

 

Jiwoo heard Jungeun’s scoff. “What? Am I not your favorite anymore? Rude!” She huffed and jerked her head away, making Jiwoo laugh. 

 

“Lippie, you’re my best friend too! Yves and you aren’t the same people, and I have different people for different things. Yves can be for.. food!” Jiwoo was not really kidding with that statement, but the sly wink that she gave Sooyoung suggested otherwise.

 

Jiwoo spoke such wonderful comments about how she and Sooyoung got to become great friends - all the while Sooyoung looked to the bubbly bundle of kind energy and wanted nothing more than to smooch her right there. In front of the journalist. In front of the photographer. 

 

A part of Sooyoung thought who cares if they all saw how the two really felt. But it was still very much early days, and nothing of the sort had been discussed yet. It had not even been 24 hours since the love proposal, so how were they able to put together a plan to letting the world know of their new-found love?

 

Still, until the two got home they could play just a bit more. "Just for food?" She faked a shocked look. The journalist seemed to be having a great time being entertained by their dynamic. "Does that make me Yves, leader of the chef group?" That sounded sillier when spoken than thought. 

 

The amount of times that Jiwoo was already having to refrain from smooching Sooyoung right then and there was a surprising amount, but she was sure that maybe after this they could sneak off into Sooyoung’s car for a good few minutes or so. 

 

A little bit longer was all they had before they could go have fun together again.

 

“The rest of us can’t really cook!” Jiwoo laughed, giving Sooyoung a quick pat apologetically. “I can make really simple things, Olivia normally steals little bits of food from everyone else and doesn’t make it herself, and Gowon can do the average amount. Except for chicken nuggets.” 

 

The photographer was shyly waiting for the little spiel to finish, then tapped Sooyoung on the shoulder for it to be her turn. Breaking her concentration, Sooyoung looked a little dazed at him, then shot up quickly from her seat, and followed him to the corner.

 

Jiwoo waved her goodbye as Sooyoung got up, and Haseul returned to sit down beside Jungeun again. “Not a lot of the Loona members are great at cooking, but usually they cook in pairs whenever we need food. Yves and Chuu are great at working together in the morning though.” Haseul winked at Jiwoo.

 

Each click of the camera told Sooyoung to move to the next pose she had. From a direct look down the barrel of the lens with a slight look of being lost, the curious look with head turned to the left, to putting her hands behind her back and showing a pleasant smile – even throwing a wink in here and there. 

 

There were a set number of poses that the group had been given that were best at highlighting their characters. These images would likely sit above some common knowledge of each of them, so more or less this would represent them. Not too far from the interview, Sooyoung kept her ears open. "Chuu makes an amazing coffee!" Sooyoung's voice travelled from the corner to reach the journalist, her face then posed with a slight pout and the peace sign with her hand next to her jaw. "Ask her what her speciality is."

 

In her mind, Sooyoung wanted to bring up things that only the two of them would've known as a teasing way to bring up such fond memories. Imagining the two of them sitting at home under a blanket on the couch with vanilla lattes seemed like heaven. Even though coffee at home was nothing like the baristas at a cafe could whip up, drip coffee and sweet creamer was just as good when it was made by Jiwooming.

 

Jiwoo almost wished that she could be over there to watch Sooyoung posing and being that beautiful woman that she was. Seriously, she was so beautiful. Definitely one of the eye catchers of the group, that was for sure. Sooyoung was one of the more popular ones and almost everything she did never failed to snatch up Jiwoo’s heart.

 

Jungeun and Haseul sent her a surprised look when Sooyoung mentioned the coffee. Jiwoo had always tried to make it for the members, but it never turned out well and Sooyoung definitely didn’t sound sarcastic. Her face flushed and Jiwoo laughed. “Yeah, I like doing foods from brunch to just breakfast, really! Usually I’m in charge of grilling meats and I can make some pretty good eggs. The only one I’ve managed to make actually good coffee for is Yves though - it’s good enough to make others jealous.” A thoughtful moment, and then, “I like to make sweets with Lippie too, like cookies!” 

 

Jungeun snorted from the couch, seeming to be bewildered and finding that impossibly funny that the girl could even say that. “You eat like, half the batter before it even goes into the oven!” 

 

Jiwoo gasped offendedly. “Hey! So do you! Plus we make, like, a lot. Half is an overstatement!” The two of them begin to bicker, loud enough for Sooyoung to hear from her photo shoot too. 

 

Haseul sighed tiredly.

 

"I think it'd be fair that if you eat the batter, you get less cooked cookies, but that never happens." 

 

Another pivot on her feet gave Sooyoung a new position – this time a pensive yet flirty look to the side. This was a pose that gave Sooyoung a bit of time to watch Jiwoo in her element: handling questions with light-hearted, fun answers. Nothing that came out of her mouth seemed to be bad - though of course Sooyoung could have also been still swimming with endorphins from the morning. In a way, this new surge of happiness Sooyoung hoped would last for just a little bit longer.

 

The photographer bowed his head slightly with a kind smile, and with a polite extension of his arm indicated for Sooyoung to head back to the couch. As Sooyoung bowed back and walked towards her old position on the couch, the photographer stood patiently, waiting for Jiwoo to be free from conversation to head off for her own photos.

 

Finding her place on the cushy couch next to Jiwoo, Sooyoung slapped Jiwoo's knee. "What'd I miss?" She looked into Jiwoo's eyes, sticking her tongue out.

 

Jiwoo jumped slightly, giving a defensive hey! before snuggling right back to her side where she had been in the first place. “Just in time, actually. What’s your favorite food, Yves? Or like, speciality stuff even though it’s like everything anyways.” She reached down for Sooyoung’s arm, intertwining the forearms before taking her hand with a wide grin on her face. The interview would be over as soon as they answer a few more questions and finish up photos, and then they would finally be free to go have fun. Jiwoo personally couldn’t wait for it to be over with.

 

Jiwoo was already beginning to fantasize over the amount of things that they could do together, like go eat a nice dinner and walk around in the park before going home and snuggling and having fun together. It was such a nice thing to imagine, and it made her so apply to think about. With Sooyoung for the rest of the day, to see her radiating smile.

 

Her face unintentionally flushed, cheeks reddened and ears a nice pink at the thought of being with Sooyoung. Wow, she was a huge gay.

 

"Tteokbokki," Sooyoung spoke almost immediately, nodding a little too much. Squeezing the hand that interlaced with hers, she looked at Jiwoo with a slight glare. "Spicy. Spicy."

 

Jiwoo shuddered at the mention of the tteokbokki and she glared right back at her in a playful manner. The amount of times that she had to tolerate the smell of them burning the fish cakes made her want to hurl, but she was nice enough to not say anything.

 

"Come on, there's something else you love but you're not telling," Haseul squinted her eyes. 

 

Sooyoung knew what she was hinting at, because on the occasions she would indulge in it, Haseul was a little grossed out by it. "And...chicken feet. It's just...steamed, fried, lathered in sauce, wh--"

 

"Spicy?" The journalist piped in.

 

"Especially spicy." Sooyoung agreed.

 

“Jinsoul and Yves seem to especially like chicken feet.” Chuu interjected. “Most of the older members like it. Vivi too!” She shot Haseul a wink, who merely turned her head away and shook her head at the mention of her girlfriend feasting on chicken feet when they had been last out for dim sum. A lot of the members liked the heat that they got from spice, but she could hardly tolerate it herself. Usually she enjoyed spice when it complimented the flavors of the dish, but that was just her being a little picky.

 

"Older members?" Sooyoung's eyes widened, pretending to take offence to a true statement.

 

By now the journalist must have felt like he had a goldmine of insights from the four. It was not usually that a journalists got exclusive stories like this – most were shared on TV broadcast to the nation – so he kept quiet for most of it. While trying to ignore the tapping of the manager's watch, the journalist finally succumbed to the pressures of time limits, and summed things up. "So sorry to take up so much of your time, I can't thank you enough," He sat up, straightening his blazer. "Chuu, if we could just-" the journalist indicated towards the photographer, who was standing by the couch waiting for Chuu to stand and take a couple of snaps. "And perhaps a group photo as well just after, and then we can be done."

 

Jungeun, Haseul, and Sooyoung looked towards Jiwoo, ready to get things moving so that they could all bolt to the van and let their hair down both figuratively and literally. 

 

Jiwoo sprung out of her seat, giving a faint little wave before skipping away to go to her photo shoot. She sat down and pulls out the signature Chuu poses, like the little hearts beside her face and an upbeat look that normally catches the attention. And then she pulled out the elegant, more lonely looking poses like staring off to the side. It was then where one might notice the little bits of red peeking out from underneath her collar, but Jiwoo did not seem to notice that it was there while she was posing. 

 

The others sat patiently while waiting for Jiwoo to finish up, the latter seemingly wanting to finish as quickly as they did, but still look pretty.

 

"We've seen that one Chuu," Haseul joked.

 

"That one too," Jungeun joined in, even though Jiwoo hadn't moved. Sooyoung nudged Jungeun to keep it down, and was met with a confused face. Sooyoung felt a little protective of Jiwoo now, but didn't rouse much of a fuss.

 

"Okay okay, full group shot if you please," The photographer waved the rest of the crew in. 

 

The girls swamped each side of Jiwoo, with Haseul mimicking Jiwoo's pose. Jungeun followed suit, and the Sooyoung, so that all four posed the same. "Charlie's Angels!" Haseul shouted.

 

With the joking settling down, the group then fell into their own signature moves. Sooyoung, seeing Chuu's hair had moved out of its usual place by a few strands, leaned over to brush some of the hairs away.

 

CLICK!

 

The first group photo was that of Sooyoung grooming Jiwoo's hair. "Oops!" Sooyoung shouted. "Didn't realise you were already taking photos."

 

Jiwoo poured at the motherly figure and her best friend teasing and mocking her, though she merely rolled her eyes and continued to strike poses. She even pulled one of Sooyoung’s sexy ones, which surprisingly worked well for the maknae. She almost even tried to replicate the way that she looks at sooyoung at the camera, guaranteeing the photo to definitely be sent to the publisher. Jiwoo would definitely squawk at the others if they kept joking around with her like that, or at least face the shorter girl’s wrath because of their teasing. Sooyoung was okay though, which made her very happy.

 

The photo that appeared on the computer screen connected to the camera was one of Sooyoung’s affectionate look towards the posing Jiwoo, who was just barely meeting her eyes with a flushed face. Which, was now reddening further as Haseul and Jungeun tried to hold back their mirth. Jungeun was more unsuccessful, and Jiwoo sent a look at her. Jiwoo turned back to Sooyoung, and gave her the look. Almost seductive, but with a quiet thanks and a telltale sign that she could earn more of these kinds of glances as long as she was just the good girl that she knew.

 

The kiss mark showed off more now, and it’s awfully similar to the color of Sooyoung’s lips, but both women look so elegant that it’s impossible to really say anything without breaking them out of these states.

 

Only when there was a moment to see what was popping up on the photographer's laptop as he took the photos previously did Sooyoung realise not only was she tending to Jiwoo's hair, but her red lips were awfully close to Jiwoo's colourful neck. The two of them knew what the red marks were, but would anyone else put two and two together to figure it out?

 

On one hand, it might leak out that something is going on. But also, this could be seen as clever PR by BBC to push the Chuuves message out there and drum up interest. Something told Sooyoung this one magazine article might cause a stir in some way.

 

"Thank you!" The photographers last shot ended with him bowing to the group. The manager and journalist to the other side of the room - who had been talking about something inaudible to the group - now began to applaud. 

 

"Great session everyone," The manager smiled, turning to the journalist. "Got what you needed?"

 

"And more," The journalist reached over to shake hands. "Thank you again.”

 

With that, each of the girls waved or shook hands with the media crew, and began to file out of the room. Sooyoung had taken her arm and wrapped it around Jiwoo's back as they walked out - a moment she stole for her own pleasure.

 

Perhaps it was in her mind from the extra long media junket they just did, but Sooyoung heard the snap of a camera once more as they walked out of the green room, and headed down the hallway towards the other green room where they rest of the gang was waiting.


	7. VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry its been so long since the last update, I have been v busy! The next chapter will be much lengthier than this one with all the spicy content for desired. Thank you, and enjoy!

Jiwoo knew that the managers reviewed the pictures and the head of the company themselves, even if they were busy, pictures of their girls meant quite a lot. They all had to be presentable in one way or another and really, Jiwoo was able to have the chance to just enjoy the time she had with Sooyoung. Why not let themselves go now, allow the public to see young and unconditional love?

 

She could only hope that this could really have a mostly positive impact for her and the group, the world become just a little more accepting for the girls in love. Other groups as well, who knows what relationships are going on?

 

Jiwoo bowed respectively to the photographer and journalist, along with the rest of the staff before finally being able to leave. She feels Sooyoung’s embrace and can’t help but smile, leaning her head against Sooyoung’s shoulder and a hand moving down to press against Sooyoung’s lower back. They look incredible as a couple together, and it definitely caught the eye of a few staff members too. She couldn’t help the cheek-hurting wide smile on her face.

 

Making their way to the car, Jiwoo could finally breath properly and made her way towards Sooyoung’s vehicle. They were able to change into their normal clothes now. Jiwoo was still wearing her short jeans and her plain t-shirt. Normal civilian clothes were so comfortable to slip into after a costume – today's events feeling longer than usual, given the panel and interview they all participated in. She was waiting on Sooyoung to catch up with her so they can get going, exhaustion beginning to fizzle away.

 

In the meanwhile though, Jiwoo leaned against the car door, smiling at her girlfriend in the empty parking lot.

 

Performing a whole concert was one thing, but even sitting for long periods of time was uncomfortable for Sooyoung. Jiwoo had already skipped ahead of her as the two reached into the echoed concrete walls of the empty car park. The other girls weren't to be found in the green room, leaving the two of them to take Sooyoung's car home.

 

Jiwoo seemed eager to shop when Sooyoung suggested it, and she felt there'd be no hesitation for her to follow. The sight of Sooyoung's car in the parking lot was a relieving one. The work had been done, and it wasn't too late to head out for a little while the sun was still up to gather some personal items.

 

But it was the lean of her partner in crime that made the heart skip a beat. Leaning on one of the back doors with one foot and her hands holding her up, Jiwoo looked incredible. Sooyoung didn't need to hide her smile, nor what she wanted to blurt out: "Well look at you, Jiwooming!"

 

Sooyoung's arms widened to accentuate her pleasure in seeing Jiwoo waiting for her like this. Almost like a gift, Sooyoung felt incredibly lucky to have this image to keep in her mind. Sooyoung approached Jiwoo within arm's reach. "Waiting for me?" she smirked, reaching one hand out to hook around one of the belt loops of Jiwoo's jeans. There hadn't been a time of the day where the two were alone since this morning, and there was so much to catch up on. Even the slightest flirtation like this was giving Sooyoung incredible butterflies inside. Sooyoung wasn't used to properly flirting with anyone other than the playfulness that came with the job.

 

The designers for BBC had done a great job at making sure that their outfits were comfortable and flowey. Even if outfits weren’t all the same from time to time, they held similarities that made the characteristics of each member stand out. But after a day like this, it really was just the best feeling to be able to slip into warm clothes with a bright smile and feeling comfortable and at home again. In this case, it was casual clothes with Sooyoung wrapped around her.

 

The car park was empty due to that it was reserved for celebrities and the managers, so they had to come in discreetly and stay underground. Due to this, it wasn’t large, but it had enough space for everyone. They had taken cars as well to figure out who would be where and in the interview as well. Good planning, anyways.

 

“What about me?” With Sooyoung being so close, that smug smile on her face, the way her eyes glistened darkly in the dim lighting of the car park, she was absolutely gorgeous. She always was, but her face only deepened in it’s scarlet color. She knows that Sooyoung had always been characterized as a flirtatious character, and it just so happened that Jiwoo would be the victim of said flirts. Her hands wiggle out from beneath her to rest themselves on Sooyoung’s shoulders, allowing herself to drop the act from earlier. Now, all that Sooyoung could see was the magnetic force of the taller girl’s lips on her own and to leave her breathless after a day of not being able to touch each other.

 

When the first of Jiwoo's two arms rested on Sooyoung's shoulders, her heart yet again skipped a beat. This was really happening, she thought to herself. The two of them had gone on a day's worth of eye-gazing tango and flirty nudges, handholds and arm wraps. The two had been dancing around a newly announced love for each other – past the strong friendship that bonded them together when they first met at the academy to an even stronger one when Loona became a reality Now that they had successfully maneuvered the day without ruining anything for the group or themselves, they seemed to have been given a window of opportunity to act upon their impulses.

 

There seemed to be a slight hesitation at first for Sooyoung, looking directly into the incredibly intoxicating gaze of Jiwoo, on making the move. There had been a lot riding on this moment. There had been a lot to lose if things went wrong. If Jiwoo had turned her down at any point, the dynamics of the group would ultimately change whether they would admit it or not. Things would change regardless, but in Sooyoung's opinion, nothing could've been a better result than how things unfolded today. Messy, wacky – just like the two of them.

 

When the second arm placed itself around Sooyoung, a lot of the nervousness seemed to dissipate. Just like the first half of the day when the nerves faded and the passion grew, again Sooyoung had a stronger compulsion to act on her inner impulses. The number of nights Sooyoung dreamed of such a tender moment felt uncountable. The way Jiwoo would look into Sooyoung's eyes with such intensity, between the unforgettable smile that could do no wrong against any situation, would always be imprinted into Sooyoung's mind.

 

The finger around Jiwoo's belt loop tightened. Sooyoung's other hand found another belt loop on the other side, and slowly tightened around the denim. With two fingers hooked, Sooyoung gently pulled herself closer – Jiwoo's casual clothes still couldn't completely hide the traces of lipstick Sooyoung had left on her. Sooyoung's lipstick had since been removed, but there was no need of lipstick to kiss Jiwoo. Slightly closer did Sooyoung pull Jiwoo, with the first whiff of Jiwoo's perfume hitting Sooyoung with a gentle waft of sweetness. Sooyoung felt as if Jiwoo was not in need of a perfume – just the visual senses alone were enough to satiate a woman in love.

 

One step closer to Jiwoo, Sooyoung was breathing on Jiwoo's neck, her head looking down at Jiwoo's collar. Her eyes weren't yet focused back on Jiwoo, merely because there were only seconds until the two would lock lips, and time felt slower for the moment. As her gaze traveled from the top of her chest to her chin, then the tip of her nose, then finally the two hazel eyes, Sooyoung's mouth sighed out.

 

Perfection.

 

With one final tug, Sooyoung pulled herself to Jiwoo and let her lips press against hers. This kiss– the one with every intention of it being pure love– felt softer, gentler, more internally euphoric than anything felt before. Her heart felt like a firework's explosion, bursting with an intense energy. Her leap to Jiwoo, to lock lips like this, was the bravest move Sooyoung had made in her life and there was not a single regret found.

 

The tug of her belt snaps her attention back to Sooyoung (as if it had ever been dragged away in the first place), who had seemed to be a nervous wreck at first. Jiwoo was too, but it had been expertly tucked away for a while. There was so much riding on the two of them. The group’s reputation, their jobs, their friendships, their lives. One little mistake can kiss it all goodbye, and one mistake that Jiwoo didn’t want to make. So she had to think. Was dating Sooyoung a mistake? Definitely not. Jiwoo was the happiest that she could ever be, and if fans just understood that she has found the love of her life, at this moment, it’d be far easier on everyone in the situation.

 

Sooyoung was so close. Her breath was warm, making her want to whimper and at the same time just pull her close and kiss her already. Her eyes were locked on her lips, the red rubies that had been teasing her all day long. And then those deep, incredibly sexy obsidian-colored eyes, able to make anyone swoon. She was so beautiful. Gorgeous. And it seemed that Jiwoo really did think the same as Sooyoung.

 

A small gasp escapes from her lips as they finally seal the deal, but they lock perfectly against her own as their mouths slotted together like a puzzle piece. It feels so good, and Jiwoo’s hands tighten in Sooyoung’s hair. She can’t resist her. It’s been so long since she’s dated, and sooyoung is the only one she’ll ever allow a kiss, ever tell them that she loves them to the extent of the universe and everything her heart can offer. “Mmh..- Sooyoung,” she breathed her name between gaps in the kiss, constantly pulling herself back in.

 

Just hearing her name through Jiwoo's lips is enough to make Sooyoung sigh in her kiss. This was everything she dreamed and more. How could she have predicted this is what kissing Jiwoo like this would feel like? The absence of smeared red lipstick was replaced by an overwhelming sense to make sure every part of Jiwoo's lips got attention. Her lips would embrace Jiwoo's top lip in a kiss isolating one, then would let go to repeat on Jiwoo's bottom lip. There was an urge to kiss her with more passion. More surges of air through her nose so that she wouldn't need to separate lips. Sooyoung had a burning flame within to hold and embrace Jiwoo. 

 

The thud of the car door as Sooyoung pushed Jiwoo's hips back into made the vehicle bounce slightly. Sooyoung heard this, and smiled among the kiss, wrapping her arms around Jiwoo's waist. "Amazing," she purred out, no longer afraid to fully embrace the power of how it felt to finally be with Jiwoo. "Kiss me more," she breathlessly whispered, leaning back in to kiss Jiwoo's cheek, then her jaw then trailing down the side of her neck. Another whiff of perfume hit Sooyoung's nose, reminding her that Jiwoo was still here. Jiwoo was in her arms.

 

Jiwoo closed her eyes, humming against Sooyoung’s lips as she constantly shifted and altered between Jiwoo’s lips. She could taste her lip gloss, a nice peach flavor that was just like er perfume and her shampoo. Jiwoo isn’t able to hold Sooyoung back and neither can she for herself, which should be concerning should she actually worry about someone walking in and seeing them. It was too late to think about that, now.

 

Jiwoo squeezes Sooyoung when hearing her demand, and she tugs Sooyoung back to crash her lips against hers again. She was stuck against the car now, back flat against the side of a car with a beautiful woman there to steal her right of speech away. This kiss was rougher, far more passionate for the two lovebirds. Jiwoo was desperate to have a grasp on her, to feel everything that Sooyoung offered. Small noises release from Jiwoo, but the constant gentle tugs of her hair or needy whines signal for Sooyoung to give her more and more of the addictive want she felt/

 

Luck was on their side for now, granting them solace in an empty car park. Soon though, someone would come, and they would either be caught unwillingly, or be making quite a statement.

 

Dreading to break the kiss, Sooyoung pulls her head away from Jiwoo, opening her eyes to seek hers. "Let's continue this someplace else," Sooyoung whispered, holding the side of Jiwoo's face with a soft touch. "Hey, how about we go shopping for a little bit first? Grab me some lipstick that won't stain your body like today."

 

The laugh that came from Sooyoung echoed along the concrete walls, reminding Sooyoung they were in a car park. "Come," Sooyoung finds the back pocket of her pants to pull out her car key, and with ease presses the 'unlock' button with a satisfying click. "Shall we?"

 

Mouth slightly agape, her eyes were glazed and her cheeks a lush pink color. She had been absolutely overwhelmed by Sooyoung’s lips on her own, making for such a precious sight of seeing the girl breathless and excited. Jiwoo could have melted when Sooyoung touched her cheek, but thankfully her wobbly knees were being supported by the car behind her still.

 

“R-right.” She said after a moment, still trying to recover from such a passionate kiss. She nodded graciously to Sooyoung opening the door and sat down in the passenger seat, placing her bag by her feet. She closed her door, buckling up and looking over at Sooyoung.

 

Swallowing the need to kiss the beautiful woman again, she held herself back and pressed herself against the seat. “Let’s go, Sooyoungie.”

 

As the grasp of her new found love slipped from her hands, and began opening the car door, Sooyoung rested her hands on the top of the door and guided Jiwoo in as if she was politely being a door person. As Jiwoo sat in the seat and closed the door, Sooyoung took a nice, long, deep breath in and out with an incredulous soaring of emotions inside. This was just the beginning, she thought to herself, but she was already so ecstatic with what was to come that she has felt a childish excitement inside – one that she hadn't felt for such a long time, perhaps getting the news that she was part of Loona.

 

But not anything like this. The slight echo of her footsteps as she walked around the back of the car, and eventually to the driver's side, reminded her one more time that this place was an empty refuge for the two of them to finally seal that one moment they crave ever since this morning's ignition. After the click of the door handle, Sooyoung slowly swung open the door, and slipped onto the comfy cushion of her car seat.

 

Strangely ,this felt like the first time the two of them where to go out somewhere together, even though they have quite a record of being together. Considering it was still late afternoon, and many of the shops would still be open, Sooyoung pondered what the right place would be for the two of them to go shopping. There are options for people in their situation, where they could simply slip into a more wealthy shopping mall with ample parking, where there would be less gawkers and wannabe-photographers and fans lurking around due to the expectations of the mall's dress code. But those places seemed so stuffy and not exactly what was the Loona brand.

 

As the car engine revved on with a roar, Sooyoung looked behind her as she clicked into reverse, noticing a small group of people piling out of the elevator and darting towards their own cars. They seemed to have slipped away just in time. The car pulled out of its spot, and with a slow crawl forward Sooyoung manoeuvred the two out of the car park, and into the busy main street of central Seoul.

 

Jiwoo snuggled back against the seat, making herself comfortable and smiling to herself. She couldn’t believe that they were actually going out like this, and Sooyoung had even kissed her again. And she liked it. Jiwoo loved it, in her own opinion, but it’d be hard to admit that her lips feel just a little bit lonely without Sooyoung’s attached. She watches cars pass by and street lamps, the cloudiness of the outdoors making it especially appealing to go inside and nap together. But that could wait for later, since she wanted dinner. Definitely. The two had different tastes, but in the end they usually agreed on something that both girls could eat and appreciate.

 

“What do you feel like eating today, Sooyoung? Other than tteokbokki?” Jiwoo asked absentmindedly.

 

The urge to convince Jiwoo to agree to a cup of freshly cooked street vendor tteokbokki might sour the mood if Sooyoung pushed too hard, but what's to stop them getting more than one thing? Salty tornado potatoes was calling Sooyoung, much like fast food fries, but on a stick and incredibly delicious, and peanut hotteok pancakes too. The kind of foods Sooyoung craved back in Busan had their own variations here in Seoul, though some cuisine was best left to experience at home. Cold milmyeon soup on summer days spent with high school friends were the strongest of memories for her. Perhaps one day, if Loona were ever to show up on the southern part of South Korea, she could take Jiwoo to the very spot she used to frequent.

 

For now, they'd need to find parking. "I'm going to find a place not to far from the Myeongdong strip," Sooyoung was leaning over the dash to see any free spots on the smaller streets from the main shopping strip. The cosmetic shops Sooyoung were thinking of were littered throughout the busy shopping strip, but conveniently placed on both ends of the road, meaning an easy in-and-out if need be. "Vendors should be up and running still if you're hungry."

 

As luck would have it, on a small street of apartments was one free space allowed for visitors to the house in front. Hoping that the resident wouldn't get too mad for using this spot, Sooyoung took her time to parallel park slowly enough to fit in. A couple of "eep"s from Sooyoung, and eventually the car came to a stop. "There!" Sooyoung beamed, looking at Jiwoo. "Ready?"

 

Perhaps when they had vacation and could go places that weren’t just for work, they could visit Busan and Jiwoo’s hometown too. She was positive that her parents would love Sooyoung, especially from what they know of her already and see, and Jiwoo no doubt wants to prove to Sooyoung just how much she wanted to be with her. Plus, she totally wanted to meet Sooyoung’s dog and her friends. 

 

It had been funny to hear when Yerim was able to brag at school that Hyejoo was the new member and ad been hiding all along, and Jiwoo would most likely want to do the same when she was out with Sooyoung. The dreams that she has about going out with each other across Korea, it would be so lovely.

 

Jiwoo skips over to Sooyoung’s side of the car and opens it, beaming down at the girl. “Come on, sooyoungie! I wanna see if they have those mocha-covered strawberries again..” she giggles with excitement and hunger. The endless pit of her stomach never seemed to end, and she could really look forward to sitting down with Sooyoung for a nice dinner too...

 

Agast at the speed of Jiwoo coming to her side of thee car - Sooyoung still fiddling with finding the top part of her jacket - she turned and pulled the key out of the ignition, and slid out of the car. Sooyoung offered a gentle curtsy and smile. 

 

Flinging her brown fluffy jacket - with the wooly inside that was like a sheepskin slipper on her body - over and through her arms, Sooyoung zipped up halfway and reached her hand out for Jiwoo to take. "I guess, we can just hold hands," Sooyoung actively spoke her thoughts out as she took Jiwoo by the hand. "And...never let go?"

 

A smile couldn't be seen, but Jiwoo could see it in Sooyoung's eyes.

 

She closed the door behind Sooyoung while zipping up her own jacket as well, which was a light brown trench coat that fell down long enough to cover up her own outfit. It was nice for weather like this, and a neutral item of clothing that didn’t require any kind of standing out. It had been a gift from her mother, and she loved how comfortable and warm it was. Plus, if she really tried, she could fit another person inside it to hug.

 

With the mention of handholding, her cheeks flush and she stares up at sooyoung before smiling widely and squeezing her hand. “You’re such a dork, Sooyoung. But I love it.” Jiwoo began to lead Sooyoung along towards where the stalls were and where they’d eventually end up to go find dinner and the lipstick that Sooyoung needed.

 

She had the widest smile on her face at that moment, and it felt like it was never going to go away.

 

Everything felt right. Natural. As if there was no awkward firsts, of knowing who initiates what. Nothing seemed to get in the way. Just like they were days ago, joking around when the group was moving from one venue to the next, the two were intertwined with no issues. As they approached the corner of the street and onto the part of Myeongdong Markets before the craziness started– a convenience store to the right and a small park on the left– Sooyoung stared into the twinkling sea of neon, fluorescence and incandescence.

 

Something always seemed to spark a lively energy from within whenever Sooyoung saw a busy street like this. Busan had their shopping regions, but nothing with the amount of foot traffic and tourism of Seoul. Every hotspot seemed swarmed with people. Just so many people. Sooyoung wasn't fearful of busy areas, even with the heightened popularity of being in a group like Loona, though it always felt like a surprise when she saw it. Tightening her hand's grip, she led the two towards the lights and noise.

 

The edges of the long strip didn't have as much activity – none of the retail women were standing outside offering free face mask gifts just for visiting their stores. No fursuits of cats for the cat cafes were around the edges, nor the cutesy costumes for the other cafes.

 

It didn't take much for the two to reach the first stretch of street foods. Whole heads of corn cooked with charcoal scars, piles of cheese tarts with chunks oozing down the lip of the crust, fishcakes lined up across trays, and tubs filled with pre-fried and steamed mandu dumplings were all wafting their unique aromas. As they walked past each stall, Sooyoung threw a look at Jiwoo to gauge whether any of these jumped out at her – though mention of mocha-coated strawberries sounded like the perfect food to start with.

 

Further they ventured into Myeongdong, with the amount of people thickening. Even with a street as wide as this, with no cars to worry about, space seemed limited. "Okay, we've got some time to jump in and grab some lippy first, but maybe after a bite?" Sooyoung mumbled.

 

Jiwoo felt her stomach growl just from the scents, though she made sure to not lull herself in yet. Food first, and then the necklace. Sooyoung first. She didn’t realize how hungry she was, from eating only the macarons for the entire day... definitely not the most fulfilling foods ever.

 

“That sounds good to me, Sooyoungie.” She hummed, continuing to merrily wall along beside the woman. “Which one do you want to go get?” Jiwoo turned to her, swaying back and forth slightly in the ambush of sweet and spicy scents around the area.

 

Sooyoung rummaged through her clutch to find some notes to pay for some food. "Hotteok pancakes for first round," Sooyoung initiated the move to the stall where a hot griddle was sizzling palm-sized lumps of flattened batter. Watching the food being made was half the fun, and they had joined in right in the middle of it. "Hello!" the short, stocky woman cheerfully said from behind the stall. "Freshly made pancakes, we have peanut, red bean, green te--"

 

"One peanut and one red bean, please," Sooyoung ordered with a chirp. If Jiwoo liked neither, Sooyoung would be happy to eat up Jiwoo's share. Worst case, at least Sooyoung was learning what Jiwoo did and didn't like along this strip for next time.  
"You got it!" the cook's server, a petite and young faced woman moved to grab a couple of paper wraps to pick up one of each from the serving tray. "That's 6, Won," her voice was light, fluffy and lively. It was always a gamble with how the servers were going to treat you.

 

With a little dance of her fingers to keep the burning sensation away, Sooyoung asked abruptly: "Okay, choose!"

 

She stood behind Sooyoung as she goes to order their food, watching the delicious hotteok pancakes bounce back and forth on the gritted. It looked particularly tasty, since she hadn’t had any food in quite a while. But she also didn’t want to eat too much because she actually wanted to go with sooyoung somewhere so that they could have a nice dinner for the two of them and no one else. That would be delightful, especially if sooyoung was the one to keep Jiwoo for the night.

 

Otherwise it’d probably end up fairly boring or not be as exciting, but tonight was going to be a completely different story.

 

She watches Sooyoung take the pancakes and show her the two, wanting her to choose which one she liked more. A crooked smile presented itself to Sooyoung. This could only mean a few bad things, that was for sure. Instead of reaching towards either of the pancakes, she stood up on her tippy-toes and leaned in to place a quick kiss on Sooyoung’s face by the corner of her mouth. She lingered there just for a little bit before pulling away.

 

Jiwoo grabbed the red bean pancake like it was a no-brainer and acted like she hadn’t almost just directly kissed Sooyoung in public.

 

The eyes said it all: surprise. Even now, with the entirety of the day being filled with such abnormalities, Jiwoo was able to take Sooyoung by surprise. "G-good to know!" Sooyoung sputtered, turning her body to continue walking down. "I've got to be more prepared for that..." she said before chewing down on the soft, spongy, almost chewy treat. The steam escapes the opening with quickly, telling Sooyoung to be careful not to get greedy and burn her mouth– one of the silliest things for a singer to do.

 

Standing side-by-side, Sooyoung would often nudge Jiwoo and point towards a window of a shop, or at a mannequin wearing something outlandish or cute. Sometimes a curious "Hmm?" would follow, to see whether it would interest Jiwoo. She wasn't aware of it just now, but Sooyoung was already thinking of something to get Jiwoo while they were out. Nothing huge, just something to surprise her. The reaction from the macaroons was just too great for her not to try again.

 

Eventually the two stand by the towering sign of Innisfree – Sooyoung's usual place for cosmetics. This time they would be going in with purpose, though shopping here usually means one item turns to ten. "Did you need anything while we're in here?" Sooyoung asked. "It could get a little… hectic."

 

She could say for a fact that she knew that Sooyoung’s lips were the best sweets of all time, but never had she prepared herself for something hot and warm like the pancakes. Looping her arm into Sooyoung’s, she continued to walk with a happy smile on her face while the couple consumed their individual waffles. They actually were pretty good, a thick bean paste flavor coating her entire palate and making her shudder with warmth. 

 

“Just the lip balm, remember? Otherwise I think I’m okay.” Jiwoo said to her, throwing out the empty little tray of her pancake before returning to lead Sooyoung into the cosmetic store. As two celebrities already, they were fairly recognizable. 

 

She led the woman deeper into the store to go find the lipstick and lip balm that they needed, looking out for the brightest shades of red just for Sooyoung.

 

Already Sooyoung could pick up on the sounds and sights that told her they had been 'spotted'. The hushes of girls covering their mouths to speak, the silent gasps with air intake as loud as a mouth could make it, the smartphones that can't have their shutter sounds turned off. Sooyoung covered her face again, scrunching the greased paper that had cupped her pancake and tilting her head down. As long as no one approached them, they could carry on doing what they wanted.

 

As the two approached the section focused on lips, Sooyoung relaxed a little - just enough to casually browse. In true Innisfree fashion, an attendant approached the two girls with a cheerful "Hi there, can I help with anything?" and holding a small basket for the inevitable load of extras the two might pick up. It was a smart tactic, handing this to customers, to give them less guilt when buying more than one item.

 

Finding a red lipstick close to the shade she was used to, Sooyoung examined the stick. "Hmm… doesn't say smudge-proof," Sooyoung mumbled, turning to Jiwoo.  
"You're looking for smudge-proof?" the attendant chirped. Sooyoung's eyes widened, and she immediately tried to hush the attendant. "No no no, not...well, yes, just keep it a little quieter, sorry," Sooyoung tried to remain cool.

 

"Oh, right, so sorry. I'm sure you get this all the time, but you both look like you're from..." the attendant paused, hoping one of them would confirm it by identifying why they looked so familiar.

 

Jiwoo, who was still clinging onto Sooyoung’s arm, was definitely fading into her Chuu persona now.. “In the flesh, Loona!” Her voice is a little hushed, just as what Sooyoung had requested, but everyone else already knew that they were who they were. It wasn’t much of a big deal anymore, it just so happens that Jiwoo and Sooyoung were singers that happened to have signs of their members and other Loona-related things around Seoul.

 

Her hand snakes down from Sooyoung’s forearm to her hand instead, pushing her fingers against it to slowly intertwine them together. Jiwoo takes the basket carefully from the attendant, as anyone else would while they were shopping. It was incredibly easy to spend all of her own money in these kinds of shops in cute lotion and other accessories that she’ll probably never use again. Jiwoo was experienced enough.

 

She was glad that no one knew why they really needed smudge proof or why they had decided to come in here together, alone. Jiwoo doesn’t know the bright red lipsticks well, as she normally goes for softer shades or ends up stealing someone else’s in the dorms.

 

Unsure whether the attendant was either excited to be shadowing the two of them or not, Sooyoung decided to quicken things up, asking the attendant to find a smudge-proof version of the red lipstick, and hand in hand sidestepped over to the lip gloss.

 

"So J--Chuu, I'm thinking...apple?" her eyes smile again, and because of Jiwoo's willingness to show her face, Sooyoung followed suit. The smile was big. Yves was here. "I think you'd really like this one."

 

Picking up the small jar of lip gloss, she examined it, then took a bit of it like an apple, winking at her afterwards. "Or peach?" In the corner of her eye she spotted two teenage girls giggling away. Perhaps they were fans and knew of the backstory behind Chuuves. Or maybe they knew nothing about them, and assumed they were famous.

 

There was still some getting used to with being in public, at least in Sooyoung's eyes. At what point do you tune out all the stares, and stop thinking about whether everyone cares, or doesn't like, you? Very few live a life with this as a proper concern, Sooyoung came to realise, and learned to embrace the unknown. 

 

She gives the attendant a big wave of goodbye before Sooyoung brings her back to the task at hand, which is to actually walk out of here with what they have come to need. This process could be much quicker, but it was a little hard to concentrate with so many people staring.

 

Jiwoo tightens her hold on Sooyoung’s hand as a way to show her slight nervousness, and that she’ll have to act in front of the public now. It’s not on purpose, but she couldn’t just shut up and be quiet the entire time.

 

“Apple? Ooh, I wanna try that! But I bet you just want me to have your favorite, hm?” She teased, referring to the peach lip gloss, though the actual meaning behind those words were unclear. 

 

Chuu leaned closer to the lip gloss, taking a small whiff of it and then picking it up to test it out. Popping her lips, she jokingly turned towards Sooyoung and made kissy faces at her with a playful look glimmering in her eyes. “Hoe do I wook?” She tried speaking while making the pouty-kissy face, surprisingly fitting for Chuu.

 

"Eu wook guud," Sooyoung replied with crossed eyes. She poked her tongue out after, giving her little chuckle. "Chuu wook gewwd."

 

“Chuu wook eery gewd!” She laughed at Sooyoung’s silly face, opting to reach up and tuck some of er hair behind her ear. 

 

A slight chuckle came from the same two girls who weren't too far from them. Sooyoung looked over, and with her kind smile, have the kind of look that acknowledged them. One squealed and looked at the other, who seemed more like a deer staring at headlights. Sooyoung assumed they weren't expecting to be seen like that.

 

Picking up another flavor of lip gloss, Sooyoung pondered. "Cinnamon sugar," Sooyoung read out. She applied it to her own lips, puckering them slightly. "Too spicy?" she looked again at Jiwoo, this time dropping it into the basket without waiting for an answer. Leaning over to Jiwoo's cheek, she gave a puckered kiss sound. "Mwah," she elongated her kiss, then headed towards the hand creams by the till.

 

“Cinnamon sugar?” She made a face of disagreement, “Why would you want that? It’s—“ she was immediately shut up by Sooyoung leaning closer to place a wet kiss against her cheek, and for a moment even she was stunned. When she pulls away, there’s a faint lipstick mark of Sooyoung’s. She looked in the mirror before groaning and rubbing her cheek, running over to the hand creams and yelling something like: “Yves! You did it again!”

 

The sight of two lips stuck on the face of Jiwoo was a flashback to the morning mess she made before. A look of shock spread across Sooyoung's face. There was genuine surprise in her eyes. Covering her mouth, she could be heard saying "Oops!". 

 

It was funny to see from a distance the cutesy face of Chuu with a big pair of lips on her, but it also put a couple of problems into their hands. One, that test lipstick she tried on for color was not smudge-free, and two, they'd have to leave and continue the night to remove the mark. "Excuse me, miss," Sooyoung looked at the attendant by the cash register. "Do you have micellar water or wipes to remove lipstick off of cheeks?"

 

Behind the counter she wasn't of much use, but the bob cut woman scooted away from the till to find exactly what would help Jiwoo. The woman disappears, assumed to be looking for the right things to help out. Sooyoung walked back over to Jiwoo to see the damage. "I had no idea, Chuu," she reached her hand out nearer to the lip marks. "Again?"

 

"Again?" the first attendant was standing nearby, and couldn't help to blurt this out louder.

 

Jiwoo was totally going through gay panic right now, even when this morning had been far worse, at least five people can see the bright mark on Jiwoo’s face. She was really meeting her standards of being a penguin, with ruffled feathers as she attempted to control the situation.

 

She tried to rub at the lipstick mark like she had this morning, only to realize that this one was far stronger than from this morning and would not budge. Jiwoo didn’t actually think that Sooyoung would smooch her like that, especially when some of Sooyoung’s lipstick had caught itself on Jiwoo’s a while back when they were at the car. Her face was almost as red as the makeup now, which was kind of funny.

 

“I should have brought makeup wipes today..” she shook her head and smiled, but not before reaching up to sooyoung and giving her a light pat on the head. “It’s okay though! We probably won’t be out much today after getting dinner.. right? We have a free day tomorrow I think, since 1/3 has something?”

 

It seemed like this had happened often in a way, and she could hear the girls near them recording in awe and in excitement.

 

"You're right, we don't," Sooyoung realised, her eyes growing from excitement from the prospect of time alone tonight, and spending all day with Jiwoo. "And we do have tomorrow. We'll put on masks and watch some TV tonight to prepare."

 

The second attendant rushed over with some micellar water and a couple packs of cotton pads. Sooyoung nodded at her with a smile, gesturing towards the register then reaching to grab the small basket it Jiwoo's hands." Sorry Chuu, you're handling this incredibly well."

 

Jiwoo was, especially in public. So unintentional was that lip imprint, yet Jiwoo was handling it like a pro. As she always did. Walking with the basket of a few items and a handful of various masks, Sooyoung plonked the basket in the counter. The attendant rung them up, glancing at Sooyoung with each item. "Are you an Innisfree member?" she asked. Everyone gets this spiel.

 

With a polite smile, Sooyoung replied: "Not today."

 

With being free, she was certain that she’d be able to avoid Hyejoo and Chaewon around the condo, which would leave the two girls alone with only each other for the rest of the day. Maybe Sooyoung would allow her a pancake morning again.

 

Jiwoo flashed a smile, reaching up to give Sooyoung a quick squeeze of a hug. “Yep! And, I’m going to be especially professional by paying for dinner and makeup tonight without Yves arguing with me,” She shoots the girl a look before taking out her credit card and turning towards the cash register.

 

Taking the initiative and paying for the collection of goods impressed Sooyoung. Jiwoo was not only handling herself so well – and deserving of something special later on – but was taking charge. Stepping to the side, Sooyoung allowed Jiwoo to pay for the goods, straightening herself a little with a hair flick. "Dinner sounds great!" she chirped. "Think about where you'd like to go before we leave."

 

By the time all of the items were dropped into the paper bag– along with all the free samples that Innisfree were known for, there had amassed a bit of a crowd around them. Some were filming the entire transaction on their phone, which as harmless as it seemed, still felt odd to be the centre of. "Thank you for shopping at Innisfree!" The small bow of the attendant sealed the purchase.

 

Sooyoung returned the bow, and turned to face the entry, where some of the girls who were crowding around moved to let the two leave. "Ready?" Sooyoung asked, unsure where they'd be heading once they left, but somewhat glad the Myeongdong strip would be busy as soon as they left. Sooyoung was dreaming of the moment the two would sit at a table, hopefully tucked away from others, where they could just talk and gush about the day they'd had without being Chuu and Yves for a little while.

 

Pushing her credit card back into the cute peach wallet that she had, she stuffed it back into her bag and gingerly placed their goodies inside of it as well. She was almost treating this like a date, wanting to make this the best experience for sooyoung. This night will be one they look back on, the first as a couple, and maybe even due to the outbreak of chuuves in the area. She was going to enjoy this, that was for sure.

 

“Ready!” Jiwoo slings her bag around her shoulder again, keeping it on the outside to then slide her fingers into Sooyoung’s larger hand with one swift move. Waving a goodbye to the store, Jiwoo led Sooyoung outside with a wide smile on her face. This was turning out to be a very bright, happy day for Jiwoo, and she was loving it.

 

The crowd had quickly dissipated once they left, and now they were submerged in the public with people occasionally taking a second look when they saw the two women beside each other. Jiwoo seemed to be in thought before perking up and looking at sooyoung. “Hey, how about we go to a karaoke place? We can rent a room for a bit so we can sing and eat food all we’d like!” And, karaoke rooms were private. Exactly where they could sit down and talk, not having to worry about a thing when all they were thinking about was how it felt to be in each other’s arms.

 

Of all the ideas popping into her head, Jiwoo managed to still surprise Sooyoung. "A kara-- Jiwoo, you're a genius!" Sooyoung's energy sparked up from the almost incredulous suggestion. A private room, all to themselves, where they could loosen up and just be themselves with no cameras or public to gawk, and there's a full menu of food on tap. "Such a good idea."

 

The hand tightened around Jiwoo's, a full swinging motion back and forth naturally came with the embrace. Sooyoung was surprised from the sheer amount of energy the two had conjured up, considering there had been an emotionally draining morning, a long panel interview in front of a mob of media, a longer interview for a magazine, and a drive over to Myeongdong. Such a full day, and yet the two wouldn't have dared suggested heading home to rest. What an amazing date to have slipped into a full day. "Did you want to go to the usual?" Sooyoung suggested, remembering the long nights of bonding some of the girls would do after training.

 

Her face lights up even further when Sooyoung calls her a genius, and she lets out a laugh before squeezing her hand and continuing to walk down the street. She flicks her hair back with a dramatic swing of her head. “Hah! I know.” Jiwoo burst out into laughter, leaning her head against sooyoung. She was completely unaware of the people staring at them and now the phones coming out to take pictures of the two. She couldn’t care less.

 

Jiwoo gives her an enthusiastic nod when she said the usual, already seeing the bright neon signs of the karaoke place in the distance. “We can get you tteobokki, and I can get something that isn’t spicy!” She says as they walk, swaying from side to side while the did so. Jiwoo couldn’t even feel the tiredness that wanted to sink into her bones because she was just having so much fun with Sooyoung tonight. It was absolutely wonderful. 

 

It had been a dream to be able to be with her all day along, and it would stay that way the day after and everything after that as well. Jiwoo was so excited to be out here with her.


End file.
